Checkmate!
by NightFall00
Summary: At the famous Nix Academy, the six top battlers from each dorm are deadlocked for the entire year in a crazed competition modeling our own classic chess game. Although, for as long as many can remember, one of the dorms has always won, can this be the year they are de-throwned...we'll see. But can the other dorms even face their fears long enough to do so?
1. Let the Game Begin

Hey guys, it's me again, if it wasn't anybody else. I'm back with a new story if that wasn't obvious, and this is going to be the most fun I've had with one because it plays off of one of my favorite board games. Again, OC submission, and the profile has the form. A little side note because I like to listen to my own voice (JK), let it be known that everything I write is on a whim and that would be why it's harder for me to write about some of my other stories. So as I get ready for college, and trying to take two language classes, we'll see if this goes anywhere. Ja nee.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

* * *

Prologue: Let the Game Begin

Those two words can haunt you when placed together. Especially in a place where they can mean the difference between victory and failure. You can be attacked one on one, and it will never be said, or you can be attacked by many enemies when you are alone, and it will spell certain doom for you, and failure is assured by that word. You can never be alone when you are in that position, but you can't be surrounded by others to protect yourself. As the king, you have the hardest job in the world in this game...survive. Or accept your fate gracefully at the sound of those two words in one..."checkmate."

You have to do your best not only to defend yourself, but also to command your soldiers in the game that could determine whether you win or lose. But when you can no longer escape from your fate, you are expected to fall down gracefully as the final checkmate is sounded. Even if it means losing respect from others, you will find the respect given back to you by your captors. Often times, nobody is sure whether to surrender or to continue to fight, but in the end, it becomes the choice that turns you into the person you become. Obviously, the context of these words can give one the plot device used when desribing this event. The event, sometimes called a game, sometimes called an obsession, but we know as "chess."

* * *

The word Chess is used as a secondary name to an event that happens in the halls of a school off the eastern seaboard of Unova. The island area of this place encompasses an area of more than a quarter of its westward neighbor, and is home only to the academy known as Nix Academy named after its founder. The island itself is as populous as many other places in the world, but is made up of ninety percent student body along with ten percent hired workers, and family members of students. The family members are mostly future students who live with their older siblings.

All throughout the entire island, the climate and topography change as though it were an entire continent with beaches, mountains, forests, cities, and everything in order to make it a sovereign region with no official name. Governments from the other five regions, and other areas such as Oblivia have been trying to settle what is to be owner of the island, or if it is to be its own region. As such, many of the students are self-governed, and listen only to the true elites of the academy.

Aside from the official name for the academy as well, the school is often called Checkmate Academy given its focus on the classic chess game. The school houses six different dorm rooms, each with their own elemental theme, eventually encompassing the entirety of the seventeen elements. Each of the dorms is based on an old styling of architecture, most likely Victorian in origin, and has a total of five floors with the first being a communal area, second through fourth used for the three diferent grades of students, and the top floor used for the elites mentioned earlier.

* * *

The six dorms are as follows with the elements following each; MoonBeam which houses the dark, ghost, and electric types, SunLight which houses fire, grass, and bug types, GalaxyStorm houses normal and dragon types, CraterStrike houses fighting, steel, and rock types, SuperNova houses psychic, ice, and poison types, PlanetFoundation houses water, ground, and flying types. Each of these dorms is expected to select what is called their "Chess Team," or the Elite trainers for the game of chess that takes place over the course of the year along with the normal academic curriculum.

Each of the people in the team are given a rank based on the Pokémon they use, and the tactics they're known to use. The ranks are based on the different chess pieces; King, Queen, Bishop, Rook, Knight, and Pawn, and the game can only begin when the six people are chosen by the dorm's yearly election for such. When two chess pieces battle a result after the battle is based on who is battling, and who is defeated. But before the explanation of winning, the roles must be relayed about each piece.

* * *

The first is the Pawn, often, and incorrectly, seen as the weakest piece in the game. The pawn's position is the basic soldier, and is always chosen from the first year students. The Pawn is chosen by the ideals of versatility, and ability to change from tactic to tactic. Just as the Pawn is able to change into another piece after reaching the other end of the game board, a Pawn is expected to be able to fight in all the styles of their fellow comrades. In the Chess War Game, a Pawn must be defeated before another team can advance to defeat the other pieces on the gameboard.

The second piece is the first specialized piece set next to the Queen and King pieces on the gameboard; the Bishop. The Bishop, based on a church man is always chosen from a student who believes more into the spirituality of the game, and of Pokémon. The Bishop, like any of the other pieces aside from a pawn is chosen from the upper classmen, and can only be a person with no disciplinary record. A Bishop is said to be able to fight from a distance, and often in more directions than straight, often times, attacking from the sides and to an angle much like how a bishop piece moves in the game.

The third is the most battle ready piece, and the only one able to challenge anyone without going through the regular channels; the Knight. A Knight, seen as the true warrior of the game, is often chosen out of the athletic students who show the desire for battle. Traditionally in the academy, there have been two demographics of the knight. The first being the wild warrior wanting to find battle, instead of having come to it. The second is the seasoned warrior who waits for the foe to come to them, and fight in order to protect, not advance.

The fourth is, by far, the piece that most would rarely fight, and the one, aside from the royalty, that is the strongest; the Rook. The Rook is often portrayed as a tower, or castle, and as such, becomes much stronger physically. The Rook is chosen from the third year classes, and is one who is strongest in academics, able to calculate a situation, and use the stregnth of their Pokémon in order to win. Rook's are also seen as silent people making their presence unknown, and allowing opponents to come and strike them without thought of consequence. The Rook is the piece one must defeat before having a chance of defeating the royalty.

The first royalty piece is the one that is chosen for their beauty rather than battle experience; the Queen. The Queen, much the like the Rook and other royalty, is chosen from a third year class, and required to be female, a trait not shared with the other royalty. A Queen is expected to be able to fight by itself, and unguarded, but the piece that must never be caught is they are to represent the heart and soul of the army. The Queen who is part of the winning army, is also the one who is named queen of the academy at the prom at the end of year.

The second royalty piece is also the most important, and chosen from the top of the class to be the leader of the army; the King. The King, while being relaitvely immobile in the game, is the strongest battler among the army, and is chosen for their charisma, experience, and their ability to lead an army. A common demographic is that the King is a male, but for the last fifteen years, the winning King has indeed been female. There is always a relatively equal ratio of female to male kings, but none has been able to match the King from the dorm MoonBeam.

* * *

For the past fifteen years, MoonBeam dorm has been the winner of the annual Chess War Game. No one is sure whether it is their King, their strategy, their memorization and exploitation of the rules, or the supporting pieces, but everyone in the academy; alumni, alumna, students past, present, and future, and teachers are aware of the power that the MoonBeam dorm boasts in this game. A requirement of all in coming sophomore students is that they know the rules of the game as it is played out over the course of their first year in school.

* * *

The rules of the game are simple, but extensive. The game begins only when the six dorms have declared their six army members, and have marked them as such. Each member of the army is required to have the chess piece that they represent on their person at all times, and in the open either as a earring, necklace, part of a hair-extension, etc. so as not to confuse the other members of the army. As said before, a Pawn must defeated before moving to the specialty pieces.

A battle can be declared at any time during the day or night, and must be done so in the presence of a teacher or administrator. The battle plays out as a normal one on one battle, and in the end, the person who is able to win determines the verdict. Should the challenger win, the player they challenged must remove themselves for a single month from the game before being able to enter again. Should the challenged piece win, the battle is considered null and void, as though it never happened, and the challenger is to have no further contact with the challenged piece for a month.

After defeating a piece, whether the challenger or challenged person wins, a series of points is given to the team dependant on the piece defeated. When a Pawn is defeated, one point is issued, when it is a Bishop or Knight, three, should it be a Rook, five, and if it is a Queen, nine. After receiving one hundred points, an army is allowed to battle the king for a chance to defeat the army in its entirety. Should the challenger win, the army is removed for the duration of the school year, but if they were to lose, the challenger is removed from the game for three months, and is unable to battle against the King again.

The only exception for the "Pawn Comes First" rule, is owned by the Knight who can challenge any piece he wants, but must do so by special request. The same rules apply, however, when challenging a king. Any piece may challenge a King, but another rule upon losing to a king is the subtraction fo fifty points from their total. In the same way, when a King is defeated, the army loses no matter whether it was the King who challenged, or was challenged.

Other special rules are in place only for the Bishop, Queen, and Rook. As the Pawn has its special tactics, the Knight has a special ruling, and the King has ultimate control, the uses for a Bishop, Knight, and Queen is rather overlooked. When a battle challenge is made to a Bishop, the person in question is allowed to reject the request once per month. As a Rook, a person is allowed twice per month to challenge a person without the consent of a teacher or administrator, but must bring the challenged piece to the administrators office should the Rook win. The Queen's rule is being able to go anywhere she so desires to make a challenge, whether it be the dorms, or other private areas in order to catch people unawares.

Throughout the year, the pieces are also given certain trials for extra points, which is the best way for a failing team to get the points buffer. If a team has less than forty points by the end of March, they are automatically disqualified, and must submit a written request of ten pages per person as to why they should be allowed back in with thirty points.

* * *

Supposedly, the rules are in place to give no army a clear advantage over another, but in the end, the common belief between the dorms is that the MoonBeam dorm has won before the battles begin. The stranger thing about this belief, aside from it being true, is that one can expect much of the same demographical characters from the MoonBeam's team. Since they original won fifteen years ago, their King has always been female, and much more popular in that respect to the queen, and in the same way the ratios of the pieces' genders and their respective positions has gone unchanged. The team this year, as usual, features the strongest students, and who some believe is the strongest incoming sophomore; Akemi Tomomiya (Pawn, Female), Sacha Tatarinov (Bishop, Male), Devon Anderson (Knight, Male), Donato Jacaruso (Rook, Male), Fiona Hendricks (Queen, Female), and Arisu Senjougahara (King, Female). The information following is for those of you who wish to know more about your opponents in the slight chance it will give you their weaknesses. But if history is any indication, you could know their entire back story, and it wouldn't help you.

The first, Akemi Tomomiya, is a young sixteen year old girl who, as the pawn, is the newest to the team. Akemi is approximately five foot two in height with a relatively underdeveloped body type, but with a fast runner's build. Her hair is a darker color, and reaches nearly to her shoulder blades with the bangs framing her blue eyes. Despite her innocent look, Akemi is more of a stalker to nayone that she would find attractice, and already has the entire layout of the school memorized to heart Considered to be the strongest incoming sophomore, Akemi was chosen for the position due to her Pokémon, and its seemingly convenient ability for the Pawn; Rotom. This will be your easiest opponent.

The second, Sacha Tatarinov, is a sixteen year old junior who exemplifies the Bishop position by knowing more about the mythology of the Pokémon world than it's physical history. Sacha is very cryptic in his appearance with longer black hair than most males boast that reaches past the base of his neck, and only slightly over on eye. Sacha has a more pale complexion than his comrades in battle, is much taller and lankier than most his age at five foot eleven, and often gives short, one word answers in a Slavic based tongue. This language, most likely Russian, is also how he commands his Pokémon so as to confuse his opponent. While in battle he is known for a ruthless strategy with his Pokémon, and one that will not shake him no matter what state his opponent is left in. Chosen solely for his regard for the rules, and his completely spirit based Pokémon, Lampent. Considered the one most people will battle after Akemi.

The third is Devon Anderson, seventeen year junior, and Sacha's roommate. Devon takes on the personification of the Knight to an extreme with his wild behavior in battle, and his immature attitude towards people, even within his own army. Devon makes sure that no matter how fast an opponent is, he's faster, but he tends to grow more and more insane as the battle progresses, so any powerful combo moves that are to be made, need to be made fast or you will lose within the first five minutes, or suffer the wrath that Devon keeps inside. Devon is shorter than sacha by at least five inches with dark brown hair that he keeps uncombed no matter how it looks in the morning. He much stronger in his arms and legs than his core, mostly for weight lifting, soccer and other running based sports. As said before, the insane mind of Devon also leads him to victory, but only because his Pokémon acts as that important foil; Absol.

The fourth is Donato Jacaruso, seventeen year old senior, and the only one who is currently living off campus, but an official member of the MoonBeam dorm. Donato isn't as cryptic as Sacha, and not as outgoing as Devon, but instead is a mixture between the two. Donato is your classic polite person who treats everyone with the same respect, but tends more towards the girls that surround him daily. Donato can be puffed up at times, but in battle he rarely gives his Pokémon orders, and allows them to fight how they wish. Donato is almost as tall as Sacha, but shorter by an inch or two, and with light blond colored hair only reaching to the base of his neck, and the middle of his forehead. His complexion is as fair as any, but by no means dwelled upon by Donato. Donato was chosen for his quiet and polite nature towards the people of his dorm, but also for his stoic Pokémon; Scrafty.

The fifth, the Queen, the most loved girl next to the King is Fiona Hendricks. Eighteen years old with a body that has matured very early and continues to stay in the same place as it did when she first arrived. Fiona, like Donato, can be very vain at times, but uses it to her advantage to defeat her opponents even before the battle. She is sometimes seen as jealous to her King, Arisu, and sometimes entertains the idea of taking her place. With her other teammates, she enjoys teasing Sacha to try and break his darker mood. As said before, Fiona is a very beautiful young woman with a matured body that she makes note of at every turn, with long brown hair, much like Devon's color reaching to the middle of her back tied up in a ponytail. In battle, she's known to be ruthless like Sacha, but unlike Sacha's stoic personality, Fiona enjoys the sight of watching her opponent attempt to find a way out of any situation, and will often laugh at the sight. Chosen for both her beauty, and her merciless battling with her Pokémon; Froslass, Fiona is the last person one would wish to be stuck battling against.

The final, and most feared woman on the island, the King, Arisu Senjougahara. The same age as Fiona, and with a similar body type, Arisu is also one of the tallest in the group, second only to Sacha by and inch, and often finds it irritating when its pointed out. Arisu also boasts the most memorable appearance with her crimson hair reaching to the end of her back, and having it left open instead of tying it off. Arisu, unlike Fiona, is very straightforward in her approaches to the other armies when it is time to battle. She uses no tricks, but instead, uses an even more powerful tool, her ability to seemingly communicate with her Pokémon on a mindset. This had been proven wrong and wrong again, but many claim that she is able to communicate with Pokémon without speaking. Having the spot slated for the first ten years she lived on the island, Arisu and Eelektross show the entire academy the meaning of the King position. If you wish to have honor, do not battle her lightly.

* * *

The information given is your only tool against them, and I suggest you use it well. The other thirty people that are slated to become the other armies are among you somewhere reading this, and if the fates would allow it, you may become the army to finally de-thrown the MoonBeam kingdom. Good luck to you all.

* * *

Prologue complete. Well, I guess you could call it more of a explanation of how things are with a story like element. Well, you now know you're opponents, all made by yours truly, and with luck, you'll be able to defeat them. But first you have to fill out the form, and remember those two all important words rolled into one..."CHECKMATE!"


	2. Hopeless Situation

Here's the first actual chapter of my Checkmate! story. First off, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has submitted an OC, and I'm hping to have all of them before the fifth chapter. But if not, then I will allow you to make another one, if you have already made it. Again, the form is on my profile, and the information you need is on my prologue. Just an FYI, I put a lot of things in the form that are unexplained, but can be if your read the prologue, that way I know people are reading it, and not just skimming over it. wEll, my rant is over, let's begin. I will start introducing OCs next chapter. For now, let's see what MoonBeam is up to.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

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Chapter 1: Hopeless Situation

Lightning flashed all around the eerie building, as the faint sounds of people walking back and forth through the halls was enough to send a chill up any unsuspecting victim's spine. The dark color of the large house became even more apparent as the lightning strikes came closer to the earth's surface, and the crest on the front door, depicting a cresent shaped moon, made known to everyone the place they had ventured to; MoonBeam dorm. As with any of the dorms in Nix Academy, MoonBeam dorm is set in a very specific place. Often called the Lightning Forest, the dense canopy, and close proximity to the water create an effect that blocks out nearly any form of sunlight, and traps the dorm in a near continual storm.

* * *

Each of the dorms are like this. The original founder placed the elements of the Pokémon very specifically on the areas of the island. Lightning Forest became the home to the MoonBeam dorm for its weather, and dreary atmosphere. SunLight dorm is places on the opposite end of the school boundaries where the trees are less abundant, and the sun shines more during the summer. GalaxyStorm dorm is situated to the southern end of the academy where the weather is as capricious as the Pokémon the students choose to train. CraterStrike is placed in the southwestern region where its more arid, desert based, and dry, mostly for the harsh training conditions, and the desire of many of its students to focus on their physical strength. SuperNova is to the far north of the boundary where the weather is colder in the caves found there, and much more accomodating to a life of solitude. And finally, PlanetFoundation is the dorm closest to the school, and in between every other dorm where the three elements represented can be in their own place.

The school itself encompasses eighty percent of the island space, making travel a necessity resource. The travel for students is done at their own discretion, and for students who live off campus, they are expected to get to the school by themselves. The changes in weather aren't as drastic as they have been described, but the changes in tremperature are slow, and apparent as you travel from one end of the island to another. At a normal walking pace, it could take anywhere from half a day to two days. By some sort of other transportation, it could take within five to six hours to make it across the entirety of the island.

* * *

Back to the story; the dorm was bustling with excitement, as the different students in each room were having their own celebration since meeting the six chess pieces for their dorm. Despite how the demographic of the dorm is perceived, many of the students are more cheerful than the other students, but that may be due to the expectation that the MoonBeam team will win the game. As for the younger students, they were excited more for their first year, and the possibility of becoming the next army while fitting on their uniform.

* * *

As with any of the dorms, the uniform is always specific to the dorms. The basic design is all the same, but each one has its own style, and even more so when one is a chess piece. The original design of the uniform, for male students, is a blazer with the dorm's crest, a pair of black slacks no matter with dorm they're in. Aside from that, each male student is required to wear a neck tie. For females, it's mostly the same, but only with the blazer over a required white dress shirt, and a skirt pleated with the represented colors for the different elements from the dorm. As for dorm crests, a cresent moon is MoonBeam, a sun is Sunlight, a swirling mass is GalaxyStorm, a tilted circle with two curved lines towards it is CraterStrike, a four pointed star is SuperNova, and a circle with a two crossing lines is PlanetFoundation.

* * *

In the highest floor of the eerie dorm, the lights were left on in one specific room with a long haired figure moving her hands across the length of a table. As she moved back into a resting position, she flicked her hair out of her eyes, and then looked at a tall figure with a small amount of hair trailing behind him, and a large amount over his right eye. Inside the dorm, the female figure continued to brush her red hair as she waited for the person across from her, a tall boy with pale skin, to do the same as she did on a large chess game board.

"Well, Sacha, that's check," the girl said crossing her legs covered in black leggings. "Are you still going to continue?"

"да," the boy in front of her said, pronouncing the word as "Da," meaning "yes."

As the boy named Sacha continued to study the game board with only a king and two Bishop pieces left, the girl facing him smiled at his thinking face, and giggled as Sacha could only shake his head. Sacha raised his head from the game board and stared indifferently towards the girl who looked at him expectantly. Placing his hand over the king piece, Sacha forced it down onto its side declaring it defeated.

"вы выи́грываю, Arisu," Sacha conceded as the girl smiled warmly at the sound of Sacha's speech. Pronounced as "vy vyígryvayu" meaning "you win."

"Well, a good game nonetheless, don't you agree?" Arisu said as she began tp place the chess pieces back in their original pieces with Sacha's help. "Let's just hope you can live up to some of those expectation we have of you, Sacha. Just not everyone's expectations."

"я стара́юсь," Sacha said with a bow to his superior. Pronounced as "ya staráyusʹ" meaning "I will try." As Sacha finished setting his pieces back into their positions, and Arisu made the first move, two arms shot around Sacha, and latched onto him as the young boy looked forward with an annoyed look.

"So, how was playing with Arisu, Sacha?" a female voice said from behind. "If you want, you can try playing with me next. And I don't necessarily mean chess; how about it?"

"нет," Sacha said plainly as the girl placed her chin on top of his head, and started to hug him tighter. Pronounced as "nyet" meaning "no."

"Don't be so uptight, Sacha, don't you want thing to heat up between us?" the girl asked in a more innocent manner as she started drawing circles on Sacha's cheek.

"да," Sacha said as the girl squeezed him tighter. "Lampent..." Sacha started out as a ghost Pokémon began to rise from next to Sacha, and near the girl currently holding him. "...демон огня," he said quietly as a series of fireballs appeared around Lampent who brought them closer to the girl's face until she let go. Pronounced as "demon ognya" meaning "demon fire," or "Will O Wisp." "спасибо, Lampent," Sacha said with the words pronounced as "spasibo" meaning "thank you."

"Next time, Fiona, try to not tease him when he has his Pokémon out," Arisu said as Sacha stood up and walked away. "It's just hazardous to your health, and beauty in this case. Keep in mind, Sacha can hurt without feeling anything himself. Although, half of it was your fault for asking if he wanted things ti heat up. He's very literal, and it normally works to his advantage."

"I know, but those dead eyes, and that cold atmosphere, I can't help myself," the girl, Fiona, said as she continued the game for Sacha. "I mean, wouldn't you like it if Sacha was more social with us."

"He and I talk a lot, so I don't have to imagine how it would be," Arisu said as she studied the game board. "I know more about him than his roommate apparently."

"Well yeah, that's because his roommate's part Aipom," Fiona said as a loud crash was heard from one of the other rooms.

"I heard that!" a voice yelled out as it began to produce footsteps from the opening door. "Say that to my face, why don't you?" the same voice yelled from the other side of Arisu's and Fiona's door.

"You're an annoying creature who needs to get a major grasp on reality," Arisu said from the other side, prompting the opening of the door with a wild haired boy walking in with an angered look. "It surpises me that you were even chosen for the Knight position, Devon."

"We all know why," Fiona said as Devon waited for her comment before going berserk. "It was either he was better behaved last year, threatened people to vote last year, or they wanted him away from the regular students."

"So they leave us with him?" Arisu asked as she looked at Devon who was still grinding his teeth. "Actually, could you get Sacha back in here as well as Akemi? Donato will be here shortly with the food," Arisu said not looking up from her game.

"Of course, your highness," Devon said disgruntingly as he left the room, and walked into his own resulting in a loud thud from something falling on the ground.

"That would be him pulling Sacah off of his bed," Arisu said as though from memory when a sudden scream was heard from another room right before a loud smacking sound. "And that would be him walking in on Akemi while she was halfway changing. Why does it have to be him who's the knight?"

"You want me to explain it again?" Fiona asked as Sacha lazily walked in the room along with a younger girl, most likely Akemi, with a face full of blush, followed by Devon who came in with a large hand mark across his cheek. "Now we're just waiting on Donato."

"As usual," Devon said bored already as he laid himself out on the couch. "If the guy is supposed to be our Rook, why doesn't he just live here?" he asked.

"Donato has a life outside of this school building, unlike some people I know of," Arisu said as she stood up from her table leaving the game with Fiona unfinished. "Besides, if he lived here, we wouldn't get the insider knowledge on a lot of things."

"Like what?" Devon asked.

As if on cue, the door to Arisu's room opened up slowly with an older male, as compared to the other two, with lighter colored hair walked in, and placed three boxes of pizza down on the table next to the sofas. He bowed to both Arisu and Fiona, and walked by Akemi before turning back around to bow to her. Arisu and Fiona chuckled at his polite nature while Akemi simply looked at him with lovestruck eyes, and flushed cheeks.

"Sorry I'm late, but Arisu wanted me to pick this up," the boy said dangling a magazine in between two of his fingers that was quickly snatched by the crimson haired girl. "Seriously, you should buy this kind of stuff yourself if you want to figure out where those sales are gonna be. Better yet, make Fiona do it with you, it'll be a good bonding opportunity."

"Shut your face, Donato," Arisu replied as she began leafing through the shopping magazine, and took one of the pieces of pie. "If I go with Fiona, she'll make me carry the bags. Even if we were going to find some one else to come with us we can't make Akemi do it, Sacha is too tired all the time, and Devon is Devon."

"That's the insider knowledge you wanted?" Devon asked as a foot was thrown in his face from Arisu who kept there for several seconds before removing it, leaving a large imprint on his face. "What the heck was that?"

"Sorry, my foot slipped," Arisu said annoyed by Devon's attitude. "By the way, Donato, anything else you think you should share with us?"

"As a matter of fact, I met with the principal, and she told me that the folders were sent out today," Donato explained taking a large bite out of his piece of pizza. "They'll be in the Kings' lockers tomorrow along with the pieces."

"What folders?" Akemi asked as she slowly ate her piece.

"Each of the folders has information about the other chess pieces," Fiona explained as she attempted to feed part of her pizza to Sacha who just continued to eat his own. "Mostly the names of them, and contact information in case that becomes necessary, and our own information to make sure nothing has been falsified."

"Then the chess pieces that we have to wear on our person will be placed in our individual lockers tomorrow as well," Arisu explained further. "I'm going to assume you all have a place to make your piece visible."

Each of the team members made a motion towards different parts of their bodies. Akemi pointed to her chain around her neck, Sacha made a motion towards his pocket watch, Fiona pulled her hair back to show a earring already prepared, Devon pointed to a tag at the bottom of his blazer, and Donato made notice of a lapel pin. Arisu nodded and held a a piece of her hair up to insinuate that she would tie to her red strands.

"Akemi," Arisu said sitting down next to her chess game, and grabbed a pawn piece. "You'll have to the less mobile in this game for the first few days. As per the rules, you have to be defeated by one of the other pieces in order for them to battle us," she explained as she moved the pawn in a different colored piece's path. "As the Pawn, you'll be expected to be weaker than what your Pokémon suggests."

"Alright," Akemi said as all the people around her were staring prompting her to take an interest in her shoes.

"Don't get me wrong," Arisu said walking towards Akemi and placing a hand on her head. "As the Pawn we need you to protet our front lines, it's why you were chosen," she said with a warm smile.

Akemi smiled back, and the two stared at each other until they heard a loud wolf whistle from Devon who had a mischievous look on his face. Arisu looked at him with another annoyed look, and then motioned for Sacha. The boy nodded, and grabbed his rommate by the collar, and took him outside. Akemi looked around to see the door close, and then looked at Arisu who signaled her to stay quiet.

"Hey, Sacha, what are going to do?" Devon asked from the outside. "Hey, is that a brick?" he asked the sound of Sacha tossing the weighted object up and down came through the door. "Don't think you can throw that at..." Devon begin to say, but was cut off by a loud thumping sound as he walked back in with an unconscious Devon dragging behind him.

"Thank you, Sacha," Arisu said as Sacha bowed to her slightly, and placed devon back on the ground.

Arisu then stood up fully, and then walked past Sacha, who walked back into his place on the sofa. Akemi looked back at the two people, and then saw Arisu biting her thumbnail for some reason as though she were exasperated by something. She then thought about when she passed Sacha, and the reason became apparent.

"Arisu," Akemi started as the red haired girl turned to her. "Do you hate that Sacha is taller than you?" she asked as Devon instnatly snapepd back into consciousness, and then hid behind the sofa with Donato and Fiona. "Did I say something taboo?" Akemi asked Sacha who simply said "да."

"Now would be a good time to hide, Akemi," Fiona said as Arisu rose from her place with a dark aura surrounding her. "Or else, it could be you she attacks, and not Sacha."

"Good point," Akemi said quickly diving behind the sofa.

"Heh, you're right, Akemi," Arisu said as she turned around to see only Sacha staring at her. "This person is taller than me, and he needs to give me his height," she said throwing Sacha onto the ground, and then jumping on him trying to, what seemed like, tear off his limbs while Sacha stayed completely indifferent during the duration of what Arisu called "punishment."

"Arisu has always been sensitive about her height compared to Sacha, since she found out that he was going to be the Bishop," Donato explained. "It was like this for most of the summer, and now it's only when someone points it out."

"Sacha doesn't seem to mind," Akemi speculated.

"True, but that's because he's pretty numb in every part of his body now," Devon explained as Arisu began to stretch Sacha out while lying on top of him.

"Like being tall, huh?" she asked angrily as she continued to stretch him. "Well, let's help with that."

* * *

After ten more minutes of this, Arisu was back in her spot as was Sacha with both unfazed by the events that had just taken place. Akemi looked back and forth at them, and was astounded by the fact they were able to continue with their meals without being embarassed by the scene that had just been witnessed, and by four other people no less.

"Donato," Arisu started surprising everyone except for her recent victim as she placed hertea cup on the table. "What do you know about the other kings in the game this year? Is there anyone like what we fought last year?"

"Pretty much," Donato answered straightening his tie. "None of them has any personal record, or social interface on the internet, so they were hard to locate at first. However, the principal was willing to share their names with me after a bit of persuasion."

"Hopefully nothing illegal," Fiona said with a chuckle.

"Of course not," Donato said with a smile. "Anyway, it seems that each has their own reason for being at the school, and many have called you their prime target."

"I'm flattered," Arisu said as she looked at the list Donato wrote down. "I know each of these people, if it's that hard to believe, and none of them have ranked high on my radar. Unless any of them did serious training over the summer, chances are they won't put up much of a fight. What do you think, Devon?" she asked as the boy looked up. "Do you think any of your classmate's will put up much of a fight?"

"The only thing I know by chess is that the King isn't supposed to fight directly," Devon said, sounding much wiser than he had been acting. "And that if the supporting pieces are no good, then the power of the King is even less. None of mine, or Sacha's, have the physical or mental strength that both of us have. I don't think it will be too hard this year."

"You were also the Pawn from last year, weren't you, Devon?" Fiona asked as the boy gave a smug grin. "I hope you don't think that things stay the same as they were after three months. You were the only one to lose a battle last year, remember?"

"And I figured out my problem," Devon said with a confident smile. "I'm an idiot, I'll admit it."

"Finally," Arisu said.

"Shut-up," Devon said quickly. "Anyway, the real idiot is the one who doesn't learn from his mistakes. I'll be the same person I always was, but with the knowledge I have from last year, I'll be the one to get us our win."

"What about you, Fiona?" Arisu asked.

"Anyone that comes near me will either get some love, or some bruises," Fiona said with a bit of blush on her cheeks. "Either way, I'll enjoy myself."

"Donato?" Arisu continued going down the line.

"I will accept my duty to protect my King and Queen," Donato said bowing to both of them. "My defense will be impenetrable."

"Sacha, do you think you'll be able to do this as a first year chess piece?" Arisu asked.

"да," he answered plainly.

"Akemi? There is still time for you to pull out of the running, and stay a normal student," Arisu explained. "But if you so desire, would you help us contnue to our sixteenth annual win?"

"Well," Akemi said still unsure. "So long as I have friends like you guys, and I get the chance to meet some interesting people, I don't think that there would be anything keeping me from saying, 'checkmate.'"

The other members began laughing out of respect, but the most Sacha gave was a small lift in the corners of his mouth. After everyone walked back into their own dorms, Arisu and Fiona were left with cleaning some of the dishes, much to the latter's dismay. After doing so, both changed into their pajamas, and took turns brushing their uniforms. As soon as her head hit the pillow, Fiona was fast asleep, but Arisu still stayed awake in her bed.

_"I'm glad I could be part of this dorm,"_ she said to herself as she began to drift off into sleep. _"But was I really the best choice for the job. If I wasn't who I was, everybody would think it was Sacha or Donato because of their more manly appearance. Do I have the right to call myself the King of this dorm. What am I talking about? People didn't pick them, they picked me because they thought I could do it, and I'll prove them right."_

* * *

As the morning sun rose over the academy, and the rest of the island, the MoonBeam dorm was still shrouded in the darkness given by the canopy above, but the rain had ceased from last night. In the dorm rooms, the only indicator that the morning had risne was the loud, and simultaneous chorus of alarm clocks going off at once. Everyone, including Sacha, in the dorm jumped out of their beds at once causing what some thought was a small tremor. Already lying awake on her floor, Arisu gave an annoyed look at the alarm clock next to her bed, and, without hesitation, threw it out the open window.

"Maybe a wake-up call on the intercom would work better," Arisu said aloud as she and her roommate got dressed, and ready for school with their black and yellow pleated skirts hanging just above the knee.

"Agreed," Fiona said as she brushed her hair before tying it back into the ponytail. "What about the others?"

"Well," Arisu said, thinking for a moment. "We can assume that both Sacha and Devon were woken up by the alarm, and based on the fact she is in a single room, I don't think it'll take longer than a few minutes before Akemi has recuperated. After that, we just have to wait on Donato."

"Is that gonna be our catchphrase?" Fiona asked as the two walked out the door. "'Waiting on Donato?'"

"Only until he graduates," Devon said from the side with his black blazer left open at the top, and the neck tie fitted loosley around his neck. "Come on, Sacha!" he yelled as Sacha lazily walked out of the room with eyes half closed, and uniform buttoned up completely to perfection. "Where's the small one?"

"I'll go check," Arisu said as she walked over to the door, and looked back at Devon. "Fun fact, Devon. When you want to check and see if anyone's home, knock!" she said as Devon looked off to the side remembering last night, and Arisu knocked on the door. "Akemi, you okay in there?"

"Uh...yeah, I'll be right out," the younger girl said from the inside.

"Sacha, stay here, and show Akemi the way to the main lobby using the special staircase," Arisu said as Sacha nodded, and the other three began their descent.

* * *

After waiting for five minutes, Akemi walked out of her room with her uniform on in a bit of a mess, as though she had been struggling to put it on. Sacha rolled his eyes slightly, and knelt next to her straightening her blazer and the end of her skirt, and then looked at her with a bit of blush on her cheeks. He then held out his hand in one direction as though directing her. Following after him, Akemi found both of them at a staircase that seemed to go on forever, but in reality bypassed all the other floors. Walking down the darkened staircase, Akemi latched onto Sacha's shirt based on instinct, and then looked up at her senior by a year.

"Hey, Sacha," she said as he turned around to look at her. "Arisu told me you can't speak English. Is that true?" she asked as Sacha nodded slightly making her confused. "Then how do you know what anyone says?" she asked as Sacha sat down on one of the steps, and opened his PokéBall, having his Lampent light the area as he began to write on a piece of paper.

He handed the paper to Akemi reading, "I can read, write, and think in English, but I can't fully understand how to speak it casually. Therefore, I only speak in my native tongue." Akemi handed the paper back to Sacha who began to write on it again. Handing it back Akemi read, "It's why any question asked to me, needs to be phrased in a 'yes or no' question. When I say 'да' or 'da' it means 'yes,' and if I say 'нет' or 'nyet' it means 'no.'"

"Okay, have you ever noticed that Arisu seems to change her personality ever now and then?" she asked as Sacha looked at her confused. "Well, last night she was the strong leader who could command her soldiers, and then she was a little sadistic with you after I noted your height, and this morning she is totally calm. Don't you find that a little weird?"

"нет," Sacha said plainly as the two continued to walk down the steps to the main lobby.

"Well, do you ever have any fantasies about either of the two girls on our team?" she asked. "I saw Fiona tried to feed you, and you and Arisu seem to get along well. Do you ever think about what it would be like to be either one's boyfriend, or to have one of them as your girlfriend?"

"нет," Sacha said quickly, and without hesitation.

"You're definitely one of the weirder ones in this dorm, aren't you?" she asked. "Devon is a pretty normal guy, but that's not necessarily a good thing. And Donato is pretty polite, but to the point where he almost acts like butler. And then there's you, who can't speak English, and doesn't even like to think about the two girls he works under in another way at all. So you're the weirdest one, don't you agree?"

"да," Sacha said with no change in emotion as they reached the main lobby.

* * *

On the paved street outside the dorm going through the forest, and beginning to merge into a more urbanized area, the five members of the chess team waited outisde for Donato to show up. As the minutes began to grow more and more plentiful, Devon's agitation level began to rise as he let out a huge shout in anger, and began ranting indescribably to his teammates. He then turned to face them again, and suddenly stopped as he saw Sacha in the back of the group holding up the same brick he hit him with last night.

"On second thought," he said turning back around. "Waiting can't be all that bad," he finished as he heard the brick hit the ground. _"Stupid threat."_

After waiting a total of twenty minutes, a familiar car horn sound to the other chess pieces sounded from down the road in a larger model car with enough seats to fit eight. As they piled in with Arisu taking the front passenger seat, Devon, Fiona, and Akemi taking the middle row of seats, and Sacha taking the final row of sets for himself.

"Sorry about the wait guys," Donato said turning around to see both Devon and Fiona with spiteful eyes that had a distinct, and murderous glint in them. "Off we go..." he said slightly afraid of what they might do to him.

Arriving at the school was a ten minute drive due to the use of an express lane going alongside the public transportation train. Fiona looked out the window at the different students who were watching the car with all the MoonBeam members, and taking pictures as fast as they could. Fiona giggled slightly and blew a kiss to some of them, as several of the male riders fell backwards making Fiona burst out laughing.

"And this is why you're not allowed to drive," Donato said as the school became more and more visible to them. "Now keep in mind, Arisu, the dossier will be in your locker with the official list of Kings that we'll be facing within the next few months. After getting that folder, come straight to us as homeroom for us is simple strategizing."

"Sweet," Akemi said from the back.

"Keep in mind, there are six school rooms slated for the chess teams, and they must not be entered until you have been given your chess piece," Arisu explained in a more commanding voice. "They'll be placed in your lockers, and once you have them, fasten them to your deired location, and come straight to the classroom. Fiona, make sure to guide Akemi."

"Of course, my liege," Fiona said jokingly.

* * *

Upon arriving at the school, Donato parked in a spot directly in front of the school's main double door entrance. The six piled out of the car, and began making their walk up to the school building as the other students seemed to make a path for them, and then fawn over each one individually. Well, everyone except Sacha, and those that were focused on Devon had murderous intent written into their eyes. As for the three girls and Donato, however, many of them were followed by people wanting to pose for pictures, but were turned away without a second thought.

"We meet back at Room 5-A in fifteen minutes, got it?" Arisu asked once inside the school building.

"Yes!" her teammates said in unison with the exception of Sacha's "да."

All six went off in different directions before stopping at all their individual lockers, and finding the small porceline chess piece already placed in a small jewelry box in the center of their lockers, all of them with a small clip at the end for attaching it to clothing or whatever. Each one had placed the chess piece in the spot they had declared, and began to make their way to the agreed upon location.

As the six walked through the halls, many of the students couldn't help but notice the game piece dangling from either a piece of clothing, accessory, or in this case Arisu's hair, and tried to follow each specific one before they were indefinitely noticed. As each member turned to face the ones following each had their own way of making them leave them to their solitude. Donato promised each one time alone with him, Devon acted like he normally did when angry, Fiona made a teasing gesture towards her group as they all fell lovestruck, Akemi said it outright, Arisu, and Sacha simply had to stare at their groups, but with Arisu, they left out of respect, and with Sacha, they left out of fear.

* * *

Inside the classroom of the school was the same no matter which room it was in. On the front wall, often marked by a raised platform spanning across half of the lenght, a large blackboard was placed with several piecs of chalk, and to the right was a desk used for lectures. Across the rest of the classroom was six rows of five desks, and in each of the front desks, each of the chess team members sat with Arisu taking the role of the teacher in the classroom.

"Alright, order in the class, people," she said as she turned around but heard a bang on one of the desks.

"In that case, I order a two packs of fries, and a shake," Devon said as Arisu cracked her knuckles, and motioned to Sacha who grabbed a random brick, banging it against Devon's head.

"It's what you get for being an idiot," Arisu said. "So for our planning time today, I want to make sure you know everyone in these two positions; Knights and Kings. Kings will be our ultimate target, but the Knights need to be disposed of as they come to us. On the board will be the names of eahc of the Knights and Kings."

"Excuse me," Akemi said with her hand raised. "Out of curiosity, wouldn't they try to do the same thing."

"Let 'em try, and beat me, I'll take 'em down before you can say 'chess,'" Devon said confidently.

"Well, you got the right idea, Akemi," Arisu said. "The enemy has been plotting against how to defeat us since last summer, and we're just now going to learn there names. So as I write their names, put them to memory, and then be on the lookout for them," Arisu explained as she flicked her King piece. "In order to discern the dorm in which you'll be battling, look at the color of their chess piece, blazer, or skirt. Black is MoonBeam, yellow is SunLight, brown is CraterStrike, purple is GalaxyStorm, green is PlanetFoundation, and white is SuperNova. Also, one more thing I need to tell you..." she said building the tension in the room. "...Let's show these guys what we got!" she said as she moved to the side with the picture of each of the Knights and Kings next to their names.

_"Knights: SunLight; Melissa Bryant, Galaxystorm; Marlen Sasaki, CraterStrike; Olivia Hale, SuperNova; Parthos Gurrerier, PlanetFoundation; George DeSan._

_"Kings: SunLight; Flarita Taiyo, GalaxyStorm; Tyson Arashi, CraterStrike; Jared Frederick, SuperNova; Christian Picklesimer, PlanetFoundation; Katherine Hughes."_

"These twelve people are the most dangerous based on chess piece rank," Donato explained. "Some of them may be your friends from past years, but in the end they will be your enemy. But you may find yourself torn between battling them seriously, and letting them win. If that's the case, then I guess this year will be the most interesting with that kind of a hopeless situation."

* * *

Chapter one complete. Hopefully you all enjoyed that. Tell me what I did right, what I did wrong, how you think that characters work out, and if you know anyone who could give me some more OCs. I'm getting more, but I still need a few more. Again, please wait until chapter five before submitting another character if you have already submitted one.


	3. One Down, Seven to Go

Welcome to the second official chapter of my Checkmate! story. I am getting close to having all the OCs I will need, so some of you may not have to make another one...sorry about that. I know some of you were looking forward to doing that in the fifth chapter. Well, such is life. Before I start, I have a message to give to the following users after the chapter is over that will be messaged to you privately, hence the name PM; pokemonmaster111, InhumanX, Lazyboredom, Leodasdragon, and kitsunelover300. So be expecting that to come in after this chapter is posted. So today, I'm going to start introducing the other characters in the story, and putting a bit more depth into the other MoonBeam characters seeing as I did a lot with Sacha and Arisu. Oh, and one more thing, since the customer is always right and one of the readers found it confusing to read Sacha's speech, I'll be romanizing the Russian he speaks so you all can read it phonetically.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

* * *

Chapter 2: One Down, Seven to Go

In the game of chess, there are a total of eight pawns, making them seem expendable. In reality, the pawn is more valuable than even the queen because of its ability to become anything it wants. In the same way, the Pawn in the game at Nix Academy is seen as the piece that will indefinitely be defeated first. But when put under the microscope, it turns out that the Pawn is the piece you never wish to lose for two reasons; first, a Pawn, as it ends the year is instantly put in a position of either a Bishop or Knight, and second, the Pawn is the most versatile and well-rounded battler within the first year students in its dorm. According to a school legend, the first time the MoonBeam team won fifteen years ago, it was the Pawn that defeated the King, but this battle was never documented due to the time period, and its validity has been lost.

However, the Pawn will continue to seem like more of an underling to any other piece on its team, and this is where MoonBeam is said to gain its strength. A rule that is more or less unknown is that should a team go without being challenged for a month they receive thirty bonus points for being perceived as that strong. If a team were to lose to the Pawn, and then see that as the lowest rung on the ladder, they will have to either work harder, or cower in fear of what the other members of the team are like. The Pawn this year from MoonBeam is named Akemi Tomomiya, and unlike other Pawns, she doesn't have to try to be someone else.

* * *

School days for the chess pieces is, overall, fairly normal. Aside from the longing stares by admirers, the looks from other people who wish to be in your place, and the glares from people in other dorms who wish your demise, the day is just cheery. Often times, the only people from other dorms that will respect you are the chess pieces, unless of course you're on their hitlist. Many people can already point out Devon to be that person, but that's a story for another time.

In the brightly lit classroom, Akemi gazed out the window, and towards the direction of her dorm wondering if it was the right thing to be participating in this. She turned her stare back at the teacher, a young woman who could barely tie her shoes without being shown how a couple hundred times. Nobody knew what was more ironic, the fact that the new students got the new teacher, whether it was alright for the teacher to keep bending over to pick up her chalk with the front row consisting of male students, or that she was the head teacher for MoonBeam dorm.

* * *

Missy Trenton is both the newest teacher to Nix Academy, and the teacher that is in charge of the six members of MoonBeam's chess team. Fresh out of college, Missy is shorter than Sacha by at least seven inches, and with an overdeveloped body for her height making the male student body's infatuation with her a bit more understandable...key term there being, "a bit." She has brown hair that curls a bit at the ends, and reaches to the brim of her glasses. Her eyes are innocent in appearance and painted a sharp blue. Like many of the teachers in the school she wears a respectable suit that covers her body, but not loosely by any means. A little scarring for some eyes, huh?

* * *

Akemi could only chuckle at watching the teacher fumble around her desk, as though she were a new student in the school, but that may have been why she was placed with them, so they could all learn together. Unlike Akemi's amusement found in her teacher, a boy on the opposite end of the class was busy writing down what seemed to be notes in a beat up notebook, and many of them were notes not even talked about on the chalk board. Much of it seemed like a diagram, or some kind of web with some kind of chain of events written on it. Things such as "MoonBeam," "New Teacher," "Old Teachers?," "Possible Complication with Students," and the final word "Scoop!"

As he continued to write furiously, but still silently, the boy noticed a writing error in one of his scribbled words, and then flipped his pencil over to erase it as something striking the desk sounded throughout the room. Startled by the sound, every student and the teacher turned to the boy who held up a hand to indicate his apologies, and then held the eraser to check the the ring around it, connected to a chain, connected to a, as Akemi's eyes widened, chess piece. More specifically, a purple pawn. Akemi scrambled to look at her notes, and saw the color chart for the other dorms, and then to purple with the word "GalaxyStorm" scribbled next to it.

* * *

She looked back at the boy to study him to memory, but then found him to be not as scary as she expected the other pieces to be. He was no older than her, maybe a bit younger by half a year or something. He was neither short, nor tall; neither skinny, nor fat, and his brown hair just was kept as neat as it could be, but even then it was border lining unkempt. From every angle, he was as average as any student, but among chess pieces, Akemi had learned, that kind of person is treasured for being able to stay within their own life without the chess game taking it over.

* * *

Akemi rested her head against her hand as she looked at the boy trying to find anything else about, but other than his royal purple colored blazer, and swirling mass symbol, there was nothing unique about him from somebody like another student in appearance. From behind, another student tapped Akemi's shoulder, and then began to whisper in her ear.

"Akemi, that would Mike Valentine," she said as they both looked at the boy who continued to write in his notebook. "People call him Ike, but that's not the point. I think you can already guess he was chosen as the Pawn for GalaxyStorm, but he would be the last person you would ever want to have to be put in a room with."

"Why?" Akemi asked as she looked over at Mike, who was simply minding his own business.

"He's a newshound," the student said warningly. "He can ferret out any secret you want to keep hidden, and he may target you for information."

"Why me?" Akemi asked beginning to get more nervous.

"You're innocent nature, you're cheerful demeanor, and you might know some secrets about the MoonBeam team that he may want," the student answered trying to warn her off, and then slumping back into her chair.

_"I don't know any secrets about my team, but could Mike really think I do?" _Akemi asked herself as she took one more look at Mike before the bell rang signaling the end of class.

Recoiling back at the sound of the bell, the teacher pushed herself against the wall, and then took a deep breath before excusing the class who practically sprinted towards the door. Akemi narrowed her eyes on Mike and tried her best to follow, but, upon stepping out of the class, found herself in the crowded hallways, only cathing the purple pawn dangling from his pencil stuck in between his ear and head as it disappeared behind a flight of stairs. Making a mad dash in the opposite direction, Akemi only glanced at the map hanging on the wall, and nodded before making a sudden turn down a secondary flight of stairs.

* * *

Reaching the bottom, Akemi ran towards the same stair case to try and meet Mike only to run directly into him, and force both onto the ground in the opposite direction each was travelling. Mike, even at a close distance was more bland and dull in his appearance than when Akemi had first noticed him. He scratched his head and then got up first, offering his hand to the fallen girl who took it cautiously.

"You okay?" he asked as she slowly nodded. "Well then, I'll be off," he said making a one eighty turn on one foot.

"Wait," Akemi said as Mike completed a full three sixty turn to face her again. "Are you really the Pawn for GalaxyStorm?" she asked as Mike stood there frozen in his position, but not out of surprise or fear.

"That I am," Mike confirmed. "But the answer is 'no.'"

"No, what?" Akemi asked.

"No, I'm not interested in battling you," Mike said. "I have no interest in a battle where I would gain nothing, but a single point. That and you wouldn't even be taken out of the competition for the full month either."

"What?" Akemi asked as she skimmed through a rule book in her bag, and read under "Special Rules." "Let's see, if a Pawn is to be defeated in a battle where the trainer in question is challenged, they are not considered to be defeated until they have been defeated a grand total of eight times. Well, that's interesting."

"According to my sources, they changed that rule a few years ago to its current state," Mike explaiend. "Your MoonBeam dorm's team last year won without barely lifting a finger because they defeated everyone within days. An unwritten rule from that time was that if all other players couldn't battle for the full month, a King from the other dorm could battle the King while ignoring the hundred point rule. So to make things more fair, they implemented a rule that, much like the actual game, played off of the number of pawns, rooks, bishops, and knights were in the game. Now to decommission any of the pieces on an opposing team, they have to be defeated equal to the number of times it takes to clear the gameboard of them."

"Where'd you get all this from if you're just a first year?" she asked as Mike gave a small chuckle.

"There's nothing anybody can hide from me," he declared. "Give me a rumor, a suspect, and time, and I'll figure out things about you that you never even thought would be brought up again. For instance, I heard through the grapevine that you have a thing developing for your team's rook Donato Jacaruso."

Akemi stayed silent and motionless as Mike looked at her triumphantly, but then heard a sudden stifled chuckle that turned into a burst of laughter. Mike's expression dropped as Akemi tried to fight back tears from her laughter.

"Like that's a secret," Akemi said. "The quickest way to get information around a place llike this is one of three ways; social media, text messaging, or telling a girl."

"I won't disagree with that," Mike said looking away. "But you kind of just stole my thunder right there."

"And here I thought it was Donato you had a thing for, Akemi," a female voice said from the end of the hall. "Or are you one of those girls that likes to play the field?" she asked as Akemi looked down the hall to see the voice leading up to Fiona. "Or is this your actual boyfriend?"

"Over my dead body," Mike said with angered eyes looking at Fiona.

"Not nice at all," Fiona said placing her arm over his shoulders. "I can fix that."

"Maybe," Mike said. "I mean there's a first time for everything," he said as Akemi try to hold back her laughter. "Besides, women like you are an open book that say, 'read me.'"

"In what way?" she asked in a more breathy tone against his neck.

"This way," Mike said in the same tone before whispering something indistinct in her ear. Upon hearing his statement, Fiona recoiled back as Mike looked at her with the same triumphant glare he gave Akemi. "Like I said, an open book. But with you, it'd be more of a picture book, otherwise you might confuse yourself."

"This isn't over," Fiona said walking away.

"Generally that's what people say when they're out of snappy remarks," Mike said as Fiona shot him a death glare. "Man, that was fun," Mike said after Fiona had fully walked away.

"You know, you really set me up for something when I get back," Akemi said. "After they find out I'm friends with you, I am screwed."

"Yeah? What do you think the other guys are gonna say after they find out I was chatting up the Pawn from our biggest rival?" he asked. "I'll be lucky to get out with my Pokémon and notebook."

"GalaxyStorm can't be all bad," Akemi said as the began to walk down the hallway.

"No, not really, just the people living inside of it," Mike said receiving a chuckle from Akemi. "I'm kidding, the people are pretty nice, but given the dorm's elements you wouldn't believe the bidding war for some of the chess piece positions. But if that were the case, then SuperNova would have us beat like that," he said snapping his fingers.

"What's that mean?" Akemi asked.

"Well, the demographic is that if you have a chance between dragon or normal, you pick a dragon," Mike explained. "But SuperNova's army is pretty well-rounded considering, even though there aren't people in them using a poison Pokémon. But at the same time, with that they still have the ice types it would take to defeat GalaxyStorm had it been all dragon. But even then, there aren't a lot of us that can be defeated by ice types anyway."

"Really?" Akemi asked.

"Yeah, and don't think this is gonna work," Mike said as Akemi froze in position. "Trying to be all friendly to get some of my secrets out. Trust me, girl, I wrote the book on it, and I'm waiting for a publisher. See ya 'round," he said walking off towards one of the train depots.

"Yeah, sure," Akemi said as a loud beep from the car Donato drove broke her out of her surprised trance. "Coming," she said walking towards the center aisle of seats, and saw Arisu looking at her with her arms folded over her chest. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not in the slightest," Arisu said motioning for her to come in as Donato turned the ignition. "I take it that's one of the enemy chess pieces."

"Yeah, he's the Pawn from GalaxyStorm," Akemi answered. "Is there some rule against hanging out with your rivals?"

"By all means no," Arisu reassured. "Just wondering what he's like. He seemed more studious than the other members of that dorm. So, what's his deal? Some kind of freak among freaks?"

"In a manner of speaking," Akemi answered. "He's just a normal guy, so none of you would be able to relate to him," she said as all five other people in the vehicle turned to glare at her. "Hey, I'm not saying I'm not guilty of that in the same way. But he's just not extraordinary like any of the other chess pieces I know, namely you guys. He knows how to take care of himself, and he has a great sense of humor."

"Woof-woof," Devon said sarcastically from the back seat next to Sacha.

"Unlike others we know of," Arisu said looking at the Knight. "Go on."

"There's not to say, other than the fact he acts like a journalist," she explained as the car made a sudden stop. "What did I say?"

"Nothing," Arisu said turning to Donato. "Take the long road home," she said as he nodded and made a turn unfamiliar to Akemi. "Now look, Akemi, it's okay to hang out with this guy, Mike Valentine if I'm reaqding this directory right, but you have to understand that your speech is going to be key when you do so. As a journalist, he has a nose for finding things out about people that they'd rather keep secret. That's why he was chosen for the Pawn position."

"Why's that?" Akemi asked as she looked around at the other people in the car.

"Pawns are a reference to soldiers in the game of chess," Donato explained. "But in other representations of the game, they are gamblers, pikemen, and in some versions messengers, often seen as more sinister as the game board travels from left to right. A person with the skills of a reporter, making his questions seem innocent enough, may be only trying to get the information he wants out of you, and then uses it to stab you in the back."

"You sure you're not making a mountain out of a Diglett hole?" Akemi asked. "He's just a nice guy, besides I didn't even mention anything about you guys, and Fiona was the only one who saw us, right?" she asked as Fiona jolted up while in the front seat.

"What was she doing?" Arisu asked.

"The same thing she does to Sacha," she said bluntly as Sacha remained unchanged. "With a similar result."

"But you didn't mention anything about our Pokémon, or any of our strategies, right?" Arisu asked as Akemi shook her head, prompting her to sigh out of relief. "Not that you know any of that stuff anyway."

"True, maybe that's what he meant," Akemi contemplated as everyone looked back towards her. "He said, 'I have no interest in a battle where I would gain nothing, but a single point.'"

"It means he knows you don't know anything about us," Donato said walking through a chain of events. "But if he knew that it would lower your guard, and would talk more freely, it might mean that he's planning to battle you from the start with the idea that he'll gain something out of it. If I had to guess, you'll be challenged in the morning tomorrow before ten, just after homeroom. Hey, Sacha, what do you say? Five bucks says I'm right and this guys challenges Akemi before ten tomorrow?"

"Da," Sacha said with unnerving confidence.

"They gamble?" Akemi asked.

"Well, Donato gambles, Sacha wins," Devon said as everyone in the car aside from Donato and Sacha gave a quick chuckle. "It's some kind of divine decision by Arceus."

"Nyet," Sacha said as Devon rolled his eyes. "Donato prosto ne povezlo," he said as Arisu gave another chuckle, knowing that what Sacha said was, "Donato's just unlucky."

"What did he say about me?" Donato asked as Sacha just moved his head to the side. "Ah-ha! You insulted me again, didn't you? Well I'm not above pulling this car over."

"Donato, there're two slight problem in your threat," Arisu said as Donato looked at her in the mirror. "One, if you pull over, and yell at him, either Fiona or myself could drive away."

"And the second reason?" Donato asked.

"We're back at the dorms," Arisu said as Donato looked up, and slowly applied the brake with a disgruntled look on his face. "Thanks for the lift."

"I'll get you tomorrow, Sacha," Donato said as a promise and drove off while Sacha had already walked back into the dorm without the former knowing.

"He needs help," Devon said as Arisu walked behind him.

"He ain't the only one," she said.

* * *

Back in the higher floor of the dorm building, Akemi was left alone in her room clutching her pillow trying to make sense of what she had gone through earlier, and the advise her friends gave. She looked over at the top dresser, and saw her PokéBall sitting atop the wooden structure.

_"This game is definitely more than what I bargained for,"_ she said as she walked towards the ball, and held it in her hand. _"Was I chosen because of this guy? Was I chosen for a photographic memory? Or was I chosen for some reason that they don't even know? Mike seemed to be a decent guy, and I'm a very good judge of character. Would he take advantage of a girl like me, or anyone for that matter, just to get some information?"_

Breaking her train of thought was a knock at Akemi's door, and on the other side, upon Akemi opening it was Fiona who greeted her with a smile. Akemi welcomed her in, and went back to her bed and wrapped her arms around her pillow again. The two stayed in silence which made Akemi wonder whether her guest would talk, or if this was her idea of counseling. Finally, Akemi stood up, and looked at Fiona who just continued to smile.

"How do you do it?" Akemi asked.

"Do what?" Fiona asked in return.

"How do you flirt with guys, no matter who they are, and expect that to get you anywhere?" Akemi elaborated as Fiona nearly fell back while laughing. "Is it that simple for you to do that, or do you just have no conscience?"

"Why would you ask someone why they do something if you know that's what they do?" Fiona asked, again as though she were trying to get a point across. "Yeah, that Mike kid was decent, and everything, but when you get down to it, he's the same as me."

"Wait, what? You mean he's a flirt?" Akemi asked as Fiona shot her a cross look.

"Not literally," she answered. "We both do things to get what we want out of people. Sure, mine is a bit more shameless, but then again, it's what I do. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I've pulled on Sacha, just to get him to show me a smile. Mike is a reporter, and no matter how you look at it, it's in his blood to be a bit of a nosy person. It's how he makes his living, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's how he was raised."

"You're saying that if Mike is trying to ferret out any secrets from our dorm, I should just let him?" Akemi asked as Fiona sighed and brought her hand over her face.

"I'm saying you shouldn't hold it against him," she explained. "Do you realize how many hits are out on Devon as we speak?"

"I have a number," Akemi said.

"Whatever it is, the actual one is higher," Fiona said as she sat down next to her. "I mean a lot of the time, people are hated for being who they are. And the only reason is because that our society has devalued individuality. Sacha onlys speak Russian because the English words don't come to him as fast, Devon's a jerk by definition, I'm a shameless flirt, Donato is an impulse buyer and gambler, and Arisu is...well, to be honest..." she started out with a little grit in her teeth. "...Perfect."

"What does that make me?" Akemi asked.

"Depends on who you are when nobody else is watching," Fiona said as she walked out the door. "Just remember, if you find the right buttons to push, the girl is aways in charge. Mike is a reporter, but where do you think reporters get the story?"

The door closed on Akemi, and she was left alone for the rest of the night, and left with a heck of a lot more to think about. But that was the worst part of it for her...all the thinking, and after that...homework.

* * *

"I challenge you," Mike said staring at Akemi while she sat at her desk.

"What?" she asked.

"You heard me," he said with his pencil pointed at her. "I'm challenging you to a regulation battle for the Chess War."

"I thought you had no interest in a battle against me," Akemi said slyly as she rest her head against the backs of her hands. "Or did something else prompt this?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Mike said as he walked towards the front of the class. "I'm doing this as a chain of events. I beat you, and MoonBeam is closer to their inevitable defeat."

"Defeat?" Akemi asked. "We haven't been beaten in fifteen years, and suddenly you seem to be an expert in this? What makes you so anxious to get us out of the way?"

"Let's just say I find it odd that the winning team has always had a King, a generally _male_ profession, that has been _female_," he explained. "At any rate, if you aren't beaten, then there can't be any progress made. And the stories aren't found by themselves; they're found by guys like me, doing the same thing a million times over catching something different each time. So what do you say?"

"No flash photography," Akemi said as she stood up, and held her PokéBall up. "Bring it on," she said as the tension became thicker than what you could cut with a knife. "Oh, hold on," she said as she pulled out her cell-phone, and the checked the time while typing a quick text message. "Okay, I'm good."

"What was that?" Mike asked.

"Nothing, you'll find out about in three...two...one," she said as, if on cue, a loud scream was heard through the school that lead into the senior classes, and straight to Donato. "Well, let's get started. Miss Trenton?" she asked as the young teacher was still caught unawares by the current situation. "Would you be willing to referee our battle, please?" she asked as the teacher skiddishly nodded.

"O-Okay, but you both need at least one member of your team to be present for this battle," she said nervously. "So p-please tell me who you want as a witness."

Akemi placed her hand under her chin, and began to pace in front of the teacher when she looked at Mike, snapping her fingers. "I'll have Sacha Tatarinov witness the battle."

"I'll have Marlen Sasaki there," Mike said with little contemplation. "No matter who witnesses it, the result will be the same."

"But what will you learn from this?" Akemi asked challengingly as they both left to one of the battlefield outside the school's double doors.

"Why did I take this job?" Missy asked towards the sky as she followed after them.

* * *

On the outside, the wind blowing was a crisp temperature as autumn had begun to finally set in, and stain the leaves in more colors than the summer could think of. In between twin rolling hills, a battlefield brilliantly marked in a deep red color. Off to the right side of the battlefield, Sacha lied down on the grass with his leg perched on top of his other, and his arms folded behind his head.

"A real team player, that one," Mike said, but then looked at Akemi in surprise. _"Did she do this so I can't learn anything from this battle? No matter what the outcome of this battle is, it would take me more than a month to even try to begin to understand Tatarinov, and even then, it's his first year as a chess piece, so he probably doesn't know any strategies the others have either. The only consolation is going to be how she fights,"_ he said to himself while looking at Akemi.

Off to the left side of the field was a much more serious minded person, just by the way she stood. As Mike had said, her name was Marlen Sasaki, and she probably stood almost as tall as Sacha. She had a curved figure, which probably wasn't as surprising for the age of seventeen, but still made Akemi feel slightly insecure. Her hair was a brown color with red highlights streaming down as far as her hair reach to the middle of her back. Her hair also reached halfway over a pair of gray eyes, beaming with emotion...and by anyone's guess, not a positive one.

_"That's Marlen Sasaki?"_ Akemi asked herself. _"In the picture next to her name that Arisu showed us yesterday was a bit more happy, or confident. Now she just looks mean, or angry with something."_

"MIKE!" Marlen shouted. "SHOW THOSE SNOBS WHAT GALAXYSTORM IS CAPABLE OF!"

"Yeah, right," Mike said sarcastically as Akemi looked over at Sacha expecting something similar, only to find him already asleep.

_"You're cruel, Sacha,"_ she said with, I guess you could say, comedic tears in the corners of her eyes. "Alright, Mike, let's get this party started. But just remember, I'm not you're stepping stone, so don't belittle me in this battle."

"Look out," Mike said flatly. "You're saying words bigger than yourself," he said giving a smug grin. "But if you're sure, let's go, Vigoroth!" he shouted throwing the PokéBall, and having it open in midair.

"Right," Akemi said halfway in her throw. _"Give me strength,"_ she said to herself with her eyes closed. "Rotom!" she called out as the PokéBall rebounded off of the ground, and opened to reveal the floating Pokémon comprised of only plasma. "Try and beat me now."

Mike stared at the Pokémon surprised, but chuckled after a while. "I must say, I didn't expect you to have such a rare Pokémon, and one know for not being trusting of humans. How did you tame it?" he asked as the small Pokémon puffed its cheeks out of frustration.

"I didn't 'tame' it," Akemi answered in retort. "I became its friend."

"Interesting," Mike said as he scratched his head.

"And this little buddy has a special skill that you wouldn't believe," Akemi declared as Mike eyes lit up like a firework. "But are you really worth it? I may not have to use it," she said as she turned away from Mike long enough for him to snap out of his trance, and then make the first command.

"Vigoroth, Shadow Claw, now!" he commanded as the normal Pokémon charged its small opponent wiht its twin claws engulfed in a shadowy aura.

As Vigoroth conitnued in its pursuit of the electric Pokémon, Akemi turned around and gave a smile as Mike widened his eyes in surprise, and then gritted his teeth, commanding Vigoroth to stop in his attack. Vigoroth looked back at its trainer, and dug its claws in the ground to stop itself. Akemi smiled, and looked back up at Rotom who returned the smile.

"Rotom, Shock Wave!" Akemi called out as Rotom reared its body back to produce a wave of electric power.

Vigoroth, reacting on its own, jumped upward, and then forward before producing another Shadow Claw that slashed acrossed Rotoms body, making it fly in a sporadic manner before regaining its balance. Mike continued to look forward, surprised by the entire situation that presented itself to him, and then ended within seconds. He shook his head, and then clapped his hands on his cheeks.

_"Get it together, Valentine,"_ he said to himself. _"But was Akemi trying to psych me out? Did she lie about her having a special skill to make me second guess myself? Could it be that she's a lot smarter than I thought?"_

"What are you doing, Ike?" Marlen shouted at him. "Your story can wait, focus on it as a battle!"

_"Maybe Marlen's right,"_ Mike said to himself. _"All my battles are about the story, and the future, but I don't think it was ever for just the moment."_

"Vigoroth," Mike said breaking out of his thought process. "My apologies, but 'sorry' won't be enough if we lose this battle. Let's get it going! Hone Claws," he called out as Vigoroth took a quick stance with much of his power being concentrated into his claws. "Last time was a warning shot. Vigoroth, Night Slash!"

Within a second Vigoroth disappeared in a flash leaving Rotom motionless, but still floating. Akemi looked on both sides of her, and even up above. Mike looked past Akemi, prompting her to look behind her as Vigoroth sped past her in a blur, and made the quick slash across Rotom's body. Mike and Marlen both looked at Akemi triumphantly, but were suddenly off put by the fact that Akemi was currently laughing as the situation was humorous.

"Hey, Sacha," Akemi started as her teammate looked up from his nap. "Do you think I'm good enough to be in the dorm now? Given how easily it was to trick them?"

"Da," Sacha said as he turned his eyes upwards, coaxing the other two to do the same. "Khoroshaya rabota," he said with a flick of fingers. Translates to "good job."

Up above Vigoroth's reach, Rotom was floating peacefully, and with a smug look on his face. Marlen and Mike looked at the Rotom in front of them, as it began spasm out of control in place, and explode with seconds.

"Substitute?" Mike questioned.

"You're too easy to fool," Akemi said. "Get your mind focusing on one thing, and eventually you lose perspective, or an opponent floating above the stage, and leaving a Substitute. Now, Shock Wave!"

Instantly, Rotom began to fire multiple shots of Shock Wave towards Vigoroth who tried its best to dodge all, but found that one or two were still able to hit. Rotom slowly floated to the ground, and gave another smug look to Mike, who simply twitched in anger. He commanded Vigoroth to continue with Night Slash as its attack, as the sloth Pokémon charged in, and within seconds both Pokémon began to disappear and reappear as the other tried to attack them.

"You're definitely one of the better battlers, Akemi," Mike admitted. "You have excellent control over your surroundings, and the knowledge of your opponent that it takes to adapt to different situations."

"Thank you, but it won't work, Mike," Akemi said as Mike looked at her confused. "Trying to act all friendly to get some secrets out of me," she said as Mike did just yesterday.

"That was never my intention," Mike said. "I want you to know that much. And you can call me Ike, if you want. Vigoroth, finish this!"

Vigoroth disappeared one more time, and appeared to the side of Rotom making the slashing motion, but suddenly hearing Akemi chuckling. Marlen turned to face her, and then narrowed her eyes trying to figure out her amusement, and then widened her eyes out of surprise.

"Ike, get Vigoroth out of there!" she shouted.

"What?" her teammate asked.

"She's right," Akemi said ominously. "I didn't lie about me having a special skill. It's for Pokémon that are near impossible to hit by just one attack. But tell me, can your Pokémon dodge one specific attack range?"

"Where is that?" Mike asked.

"...Everywhere," Akemi said as electricity began to course through every part of Rotom's body. "Discharge!" she called out as Rotom released the entirety of the electric pwoer around its body filling the field with the blast.

Trying to dodge the individual strikes, Vigoroth soon found itself pinned in its position before begin struck in the abdomen. The power from the lightning blasted it back into another electric strike with the same result. By the end of the attack, Vigoroth had been thrown the entire length of the battlefield, and almost completed defeated. Mike ran towards his Pokémon on instinct, and went to its side.

"You okay, bud?" he asked as Vigoroth gave a smile. "Well, we may as well cut our losses. Return," he said as he put his friend back into its PokéBall. "I must congratulate you, Akemi. You are the true essence that it takes to be a Pawn. Adaptability, tactics, and cunning. Unfortunately, I may have one or two of these traits, but the third will always escape, and with that, GalaxyStorm's defeat may become all the more plausible."

"Don't sell yourself short, Ike," Akemi said with a smile. "You were good. I like to think that it was one of those 'right place, right time' situations."

Both clasped each others' hand as Sacha stood up, and Marlen turned away from the battlefield. After a quick shake, both battlers went back to the school leaving the battlefield completely empty...save for the teacher who was supposed to be refereeing the match.

"They forgot about me," she said with a depressive sigh.

* * *

Back in the MoonBeam dorm, news of Akemi's win spread like wildfire, and upon the team entering inside the building, it erupted into a giant party with Akemi as the guest of honor.

"You did good, Akemi," Arisu said from behind. "Keep this up, and you just might become the next King that everybody fears in this place."

"You think so?" Akemi asked. "How would you know?"

"I did it," Arisu said as she walked away.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the GalaxyStorm dorm, everybody was trying to console Mike about his loss, despite his claims that it meant nothing to him in the first place. Making a quick dash up the reserved staircase, Mike walked to the top of the building, and laid himself outside a door reading, "Tyson Arashi."

"What do I say to him?" Mike asked. "Hey, Tyson, I lost an important battle?"

"That would just about do it," a voice coming up the stairs said. "Hey, Mike," a boy about the same age as Arisu said as he walked up.

The boy walking up the stairs was about as tall as Mike if not a few inches taller, and with the same proportions on his body type. The major difference between the boy and Mike was that his hair was a dark blue color, much longer, and spiked at the ends as it travelled down. Over his school uniform, and the royal purple blazer, he wore a red hooded jacket with a chess piece dangling from the zipper; the purple king.

"Tyson," Mike said recognizing him "About the battle today."

"I know all about it from Marlen," Tyson said as he walked into his room. "Try not to dwell on it, even though it slows our attack plan on MoonBeam down. I'm not exactly sure why Marlen was jumping on it more than myself."

"Marlen is the one who's supposed to be on meds," Mike said sarcastically.

"At any rate, just make sure she doesn't do anything crazy," Tyson said. "I think she'll be battling against one of the MoonBeam members pretty soon."

"Really which one?" Mike asked. "Do you think she'll be ready?"

"In the words of her future opponent, 'da,'" Tyson said as he closed the door leaving Mike alone with both his thoughts and guilt.

* * *

Chapter two complete. Hopefully you all enjoyed that, and if you think I could've done better at the battle scene, let me know. Well, I may have made it obvious who's battleing next, but don't worry, I won't just be focusing on the MoonBeam dorm members. Eventually I will have more of a focus on the other teams. Ja nee.


	4. Strength, Outside and In

Here's chapter three of my new Pokémon fanfic. I don't know about you all, but I find that writing a story becomes much easier if you actually enjoy what you're writing, and this is by far my favorite story that I've written. I base this story loosely off of another story on this site, but other than that the idea is pretty much original, and if you can find some similarities to another anime, manga, game, or anything, I'll be glad to find out, and then cry in the corner for not coming up with anything original for a while. My rant is over, in this chapter, just a heads-up, we're going to meet more of the OCs from the GalaxyStorm dorm becasue they seem to be the ones making the loudest assault on MoonBeam. Ja nee. Also, I'm finally done accepting OCs. Thank you for everyone who submitted, and I hope you enjoy reading about your characters...when they come that is.

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECASUE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

Chapter 3: Strength, Outside and In

It's said that we are only true to ourselves when nobody is around to see it, and those who are who they are all the time are either seen as brave, or idiots by society. But what happens when you're in between? Somebody who wants to be who they are, and try, but finds that in the end they see themselves as an idiot, or it turns us into the one person another never hopes to be. Do you think that you could be that person? One who acts like they always do, but in the end, they hate themselves for it. A lot of people say they can do it, but in the end, they're just full of nonsense.

The Bishop in the game of chess at Nix Academy, cannot be that person. They must be filled with tact, and cunning. Not to mention, they must always be in control of their emotions. Many times, they are accused of being able to keep the same emotion they were born with no matter what comes their way. And in the same way, according to legends of Pokémon, the high priests of the different regions were said to be able to stay the people others thought they were, and not who they knew themselves to be.

* * *

The atmosphere felt as though it were an old movie or some memory as a thin figure stood in front of a class of children, all within their first few years of middle school. He stared at them with his dead gray eyes, and gave a quick bow before trying to move to his seat in the back of the room. Just before he walked away from the front, however, he was held in place by the teacher gripping his shoulder.

"Now, class," the woman said in a silky voice. "This a new friend named Sacha Tatarinov. he's a little shy, so let's see if we can make him a bit more comfortable. Okay?" she asked as the class in front of her gave no explicit reaction. "Well, if that's all. Sacha you can move to the seat in the back. Try your best, okay?"

"...Da," he said as the teacher looked at him confused.

The younger version of Sacha was much shorter than he as he is seen today by nearly a foot and a half, but retains much of his physical features, including the hair that reaches over his eye. Aside from that, Sacha appeared, at the time, to be no different than how he acts with the classes at Nix Academy. But another similarity appeared in any place that Sacha went through, no matter how young he got.

"Why doesn't he speak English?" one would whisper.

"Maybe he's just a little slow," another one would speculate.

"Nah, he's just an idiot," the final one would say before he snapped.

Sacha jumped form his desk, and gripped onto the boy's neck, pushing him to the ground while placing his PokéBall near his head. Sacha's expression never changed as he inched the ball closer to his face wihle the boy struggled in terror trying to remove his hand. The teacher instantly reacted to the sight, pushing the children out of the way, and gripped the hand with Sacha's PokéBall.

"Young man!" she shouted trying to exude the proper authority while making a single slap across his face. "That's not how we act in the classroom!"

"Zatkins!" Sacha shouted back as he stared into the teacher's eyes, almost making her back off, with his words, while unknown to them, translating to "shut-up."

"Please," the boy said still struggling against Sacha's grip. "Don't hurt me."

"Litwick," Sacha said as he opened the PokéBall. "Demon Ognya," he called out as the candle Pokémon chuckled while releasing a series of fireballs towards the young male student who gave one last cry before the entire image began to fade away.

* * *

"Nyet...proshu proshcheniya," Sacha said in his sleep as he recoiled up to sit up straight, with his words echoing in his head, translating to "pardon me," or "I'm sorry." "...Proshu proshcheniya."

Sacha was now wide awake, and sitting up in his bed with his breaths loud and deep as he looked at the clock next to his bed reading "2:30". He looked around his room, and saw his roommate Devon sleeping soundly as though Sacha's tantrum hadn't roused him from his rest. After wiping the sleep out of his eyes, Sacha walked over to his dresser, and looked at the mirror just above it. He kept his eyes fixed on himself, and clenched his fist before placing it gently on the image of his own face.

Walking out of his room, Sacha opened his PokéBall, and told Lampent to light his way. Travelling down the long stairs off to the side of the hall, Sacha looked at his hands, and thought back to his nightmare with his hand wrapped around that boy's neck. Down on the first floor of the dorm building, and off to the right side of the lobby was a kitchen large enough for several people to fit in at once. Opening the door to the refrigerator, Sacha pulled out a large bottle of milk, and walked over to a sofa in the lobby area, laying himself out on it completely.

"Za vas," he said as he held the bottle up in front of him, saying an equivilant for "cheers" in his native tongue.

Almost forcing the drink down his throat, Sacha looked at the silence all around him, then at his Pokémon, and the light that shone all around it. Left alone with just his Pokémon with him, the tall boy looked up at the moonlight beaming through the windows off to the sides of him. As he was about to fall asleep from the peaceful atmosphere the moon gave off, a series of footsteps walked down the stairs, rousing him from his sleep. Holding a flashlight in her hand, as Fiona followed after her, Arisu looked down at the couch to see Lampent and Sacha just watching them, and then the empty bottle in his hand.

"That better be non-alchoholic," Arisu said as she turned off her flashlight, and allowed Lampent to light the room.

"Eto moloko," Sacha said not looking at them, explaining that what he was drinking was milk, and nothing else.

"What are you doing down here in the middle of the night, Sacha?" Arisu asked she knelt down next to him, and looked at him from above.

"Eto nichego," Sacha answered as he looked away, claiming that there was nothing the matter. "Proshu proshceniya," he apologized as he began to close his eyes.

"He must've had a bad dream," Devon said from higher up on the stairs. "He kept moaning in his sleep, and saying that he was sorry for something. It's been happening for the last week, you know."

"Donoschik," Sacha said spitefully as he looked Devon's direction, accusing him of being a snitch.

"Oh, my little Sacha had a bad dream?" Fiona asked, feigning both innocence and concern as she rushed to his side, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "If you need to, you can cry on Fiona's shoulder," she said as she began to stroke his head.

_"Little Sacha?"_ Arisu asked Fiona in her mind, but almost wanting to say it aloud.

"Nyet," Sacha said pushing her away. "Pozhaluysta, ostavʹte menya v pokoye," he said to the three, requesting to be left alone for the time being.

Having been a more complicated phrase in his native language, Devon and Fiona looked at each other, confused by its meaning, up until Arisu knelt next to both of them, and translated for both of them. Devon shrugged his shoulders, and went up without another word, whereas Fiona took some explaining from Arisu before she agreed.

"In situations like this, it's best to leave a friend alone to sort out his feelings," she explained as Fiona reluctantly went back up the stairs. Arisu, on the other hand, stayed in her position and walked back to the couch, and stared at Sacha from above. "You want to talk about it?"

"Nyet," Sacha said as he looked up at his Pokémon, and back at the moonlight seeping into the room.

"You know, there aren't a lot of things even I know about you," Arisu said as she sat down on the floor in front of the sofa with her back adjacent to Sacha's stomach. "You have no idea how much it bugs me to not know something. But it irritates me even more when a friend of mine doesn't let me know. Especially, when they know I can help."

"F-Friend," Sacha tried to say, choking on the word. "Y-You...s-say...I...friend?" he asked trying to sound out the sentence in English.

"Yes, and no matter how you want to argue it, I'll argue with all the more until you agree," Arisu said as she tilted her head back up against his side. "As it's said in your language, 'prosto drug budet s vami soglasen, no nastoyashchiy drug budet sporitʹ.' A mere friend will agree with you, but a true friend will argue with you."

"Spasibo," Sacha thanked as he sat up. "Ostavʹte menya v pokoye," he said plainly, still requesting that she leave him by himself.

Arisu reluctantly got up from her spot, and walked back up the stairs to find both Devon and Fiona trying to listen in on the conversation. She began to tap her fingers on her arm while a dark aura representing her anger began to form around her, and the rest is left up to the imagination as the rest of the night was nothing but pounding sounds.

* * *

On the southern end of the campus in the GalaxyStorm dorm, five figures all sat around a circular table with the lights still on. The first three were the Pawn, Knight, and King; Mike, or Ike, Valentine, Marlen Sasaki, and Tyson Arashi. The three met earlier, were still wearing their uniform along with the other two, and their chess pieces in Mike's pencil, a headband on Marlen, and Tyson's zipper. The other two, more than likely the Bishop, Rook, or Queen, sat on the other side waiting for their king to say something.

"Well," Tyson said, breaking the silence. "Obviously it's not fortunate that our loss was against our largest rivals, but in the long-run, it won't matter much after we've won. Ike's loss was not that I wanted to suffer early on, but rethinking my plan I found that makes us more fortunate when we deploy Marlen against the Bishop of that dorm."

"How do you suppose?" the boy sitting closest to Mike asked. "If he's been defeated, how does that help us?"

The boy, when the light shone on him, was about as tall as Sacha, but with a stronger build, and a broader frame. His hair was a jet black color that fell around his face with white highlights going into the root, and a pair of different colored, one being a firey red color, and the other being a ocean blue. Like all the people seated at the table with him, he was wearing the standard uniform for his dorm, with a necklace hanging around his neck with a figure resembling the Pokémon Hydreigon, and also on the chain was a purple tinted rook piece.

"Well, Zero," Tyson started turning to the boy. "In years past, the army who has lost a battle, would stay out of the competition for at least a week. It's only been three days since Ike's loss, so nobody will be expecting this battle. The only downside is that we're going to have to do it on the weekend. That's when battles are going to be mostly played out."

"Do you want to change the date?" the boy named Zero asked as Tyson shook his head.

"No, the plan I came up with is perfect in almost every respect," Tyson explained as everyone in the room turned to look at. "I only use the word 'almost' is because there are too many unpredictable variables."

"Like if we lose?" a girl on the other side of the table asked prompting everyone to turn to her.

The girl was at most, five foot seven, with a small, and thin build. Much like Zero, the girl's hair was dominately a black color, and white colors in it, but hers were at the tips rather than the root and extending. The girl's complexion was a darker color than the other's around her, a kind of caramel color for better description, with a pair of dark brown eyes, and with a scar extending from the forehead, down through the right eye, and ending adjacent to her right nostril. Her eyes were protected, so to speak, by a pair of green-blue framed glasses. Along with her normal school uniform, the girl also wore a scarf, wrapped loosley around her neck with a bishop piece stuck on the end.

"Can you please be serious for a second, Serena?" Marlen asked. "Besides, why would I lose to somebody like Sacha?"

"Because next to no one can understand a single word the guy says," the girl Serena answered with her hands folded behind her head. "If you can't decipher, record, or find some other way to study his speech, you won't be able to figure out whether he's telling his Pokémon to dodge, attack, stay in place, or dance the macarena. What do you think, Helen?"

All five people at the table looked at a final female figure in the corner, drinking a small cup of tea. She turned to them, and looked at them with her silver blue colored hair flicking behind. As she finished turning around, her bangs went over her eyes with the black and white highlights became more visible in the blue color. Her bangs curled back to keep them out of her eyes, not that it helped, and the longer strands travelled a long distance down her back. Aside from her hair, she was a small girl with a small build, and no real developement in her body. Much like Serena, she too wore a scarf along with the normal uniform with her chess piece, the queen, pinned to the main body of the scarf.

"...Fifty-fifty," Helen answered.

"Fifty-fifty?" Marlen asked angrily. "You think I could actually lose to guy like that?"

"...Yes," Helen answered bluntly as the words almost seemed to stab Marlen.

"Well, I'll show you," Marlen said pointing at the queen of GalaxyStorm. "I'll make that fifty-fifty into zero-one hundred."

"So Sacha's gonna beat you?" Serena asked as Marlen turned to her, and pounced at her leaving the three males in the dorm as the only one's unaware of the entire situation.

"Should we stop them?" Mike asked.

"And give up a good photo op?" Zero asked as Tyson chuckled. "What are you thinking about? When you're king of the academy?"

"No," Tyson answered. "Just thinking that if I were in any other dorm, then I would really be bored."

* * *

On the opposite end of the academy, where the climate began to chill, and traces of morning fog had begun to appear, the dorm of the psychic, ice, and poison types SuperNova stood. Inside the top floor in a single room, with a star pattern decorating the walls.

In the center of the room, a young girl with long black hair that flowed back, and around her dark blue eyes began to shuffle through a bag, pulling out a deck of tarot cards. Her skin was a lightly tanned color, and her body was of a smaller build, but not as much as the queen from GalaxyStorm, probably standing at five and a half feet. Around her neck, attached to a chain with a pentagram along with it, was a white colored bishop piece that would clink against the pendant as she moved.

"Is that you, Christian?" she asked as an older boy watched her from the open door.

The boy she referred to was taller than even Sacha by a few inches, and with a stronger build, as though he had been used to physical labor. Despite his shoulder build, his arms and legs were thin, and very long. His hair was much more conserved than some of the males in the school, reaching only to about his eyebrows, and just above his pale blue eyes. He was wearing his uniform, along with a long black fedora with a white chess piece dangling from the brim; the king.

"Next time you decide to do a midnight seance, close your door to make sure no one else wakes up, Taisuke," the boy said as he walked in, and placed his hat in a chair in the room. "Consulting the cards? What happened?"

The girl named Taisuke looked up from her deck, and pushed it towards Christian, "It's about the MoonBeam Bishop, Sacha Tatarinov. I want to believe that he's a nice guy, but it's hard to get past his emotional shell."

"Shell?" Christian said cutting the deck.

"He's afriad of something," Taisuke explained. "He's in my class at school, and everytime I watch him do his work, he's wanting more. As to what he desires, I don't know. I was hoping they might help," she said taking the bottom half of the deck that Christian made.

"In the middle of the night?" Christian asked. "Isn't that a bit too much."

"Knowing a person's secret may be the difference between life and death," Taisuke explained as she took the top card and closed her eyes. "As I thought," she said placing the card on the table depicting a man hanging upside down from a tree by one leg, the other bent to make a large four, and his hands bound together. "The Hanged Man," Taisuke said as Christian looked at it confused. "See his peaceful face even though he knows there is no escape from death," Taisuke explained. "The Hanged Man is a symbol of uncertainty. Sacha lives two lives. He's in a position where there are two things pulling him in two directions, and he doesn't know when it will stop."

"Sometimes the wait is the most painful thing about growing up," Christian speculated. "You think that Sacha really leads a double life?"

"No, not a double life, but a guilty life," Taisuke explained. "Sacha's done something that he can't atone for, and allows that to hold him back. He fears for his opponent, but he knows the implications of what happens to being soft on an opponent."

"Tyson Arashi from the GalaxyStorm told me he was going to make an assault on the MoonBeam dorm, starting with Sacha," Christian explained. "Would that have any effect on him?"

"The Hanged Man shows a place where there is no time," Taisuke said placing the cards back into her bag. "A waiting room, so to speak. There is the Sacha that did something horrible in the past, and the Sacha who is chained by that guilt. Eventually motion will being, but not even a psychic could tell you when that will be."

"So who will win the battle?" Christian asked.

"The winner of this battle cannot be seen in the cards," Taisuke said as she walked over to her bed, and sat down while staring out her window. "But if I was going to say if there was going to be a clear winner, it would have to be..."

* * *

As the sunlight began to creep over the academy, Sacha was still left sleeping on the sofa, and when he woke up, he felt something propped up against him. Looking back, he found a small pillow behind his head, and a blanket draped over hsi body. On the coffee table next to him, a plate full of small pastries with a note next to it greeted Sacha. Sacha looked at the note, and warmed his eyes, but not his smile as he placed the note back next to the plate, beginning to eat some of the breads

"Spasibo, Arisu," he thanked as he looked back at the note reading, "Worrying won't do you any good, so why don't you get some food before you collapse. Your friend, Arisu."

After eating several of the pastries, Sacha stood up, and grabbed Lampent's PokéBall, before heading back upstairs. On the way up the stairs, Sacha looked around him, and back down where the lobby was now just barely visible, thinking about what happened last night, when the scream of the child echoed in his mind. Holding his head in pain as the voice wouldn't leave his mind, Sacha almost collapsed to the ground when he felt a pat on his shoulder.

"Man, Sacha," Donato said from next to him. "You have to learn that your bed is upstairs, and not in the lobby. That makes what, three times this week?"

"Da," Sacha answered as he followed the Rook holding a several bags filled to the brim with letters. "W-What...that?" he tried asking in English.

"Just the normal batch of fan mail," Donato answered. "We have our fans to think about in this dorm, and even some from other dorms. I don't think there was any for you, this time, though. Maybe you'll get some in the next one."

"Nyet," Sacha said as he went up on ahead, leaving Donato stumbling up the stairs.

"You could take one of these bags, you know," Donato said as Sacha gave a quick, "nyet," leaving Donato whimpering as he walked the rest of the length fo the staircase.

Walking into his room, Sacha saw that Devon had already left, and was probably in Arisu's room as the King's and Queen's were communal when both the King and Queen were of the same gender. Sacha sighed as he flopped onto his own bed, held his arm up over his eyes, and began taking deep breaths when he heard the release of at least four bags in the room adjacent to his.

"Wow, only a week in school, and I have so many fans?" Fiona asked as she began to shuffle through a bag filled with letters specified for her. "I must've been born under a lucky star."

"And it's probably falling by now," Devon said as he was shot a death glare by the Queen. "Let's see, how many threats do I get today?"

"You really are a strange dude, you know," Donato said as he handed the largest bag to Arisu who gave an annoyed at the amount.

"Why do I always get the biggest bag?" Arisu asked as Fioan looked up and glared at her.

"That's what I'd like to know," she asked as she turned around with her arms folded across her chest.

"Does this happen all the time?" Akemi asked as she took a bag from Donato filled with a much smaller amount.

"Fiona being jealous of Arisu in every respect?" Donato asked. "Or the fan mail thing?"

"The second one," Akemi asked as she read the first of many letters. "Seriously, it's like they think were gym leaders or something. Do people really look up to us?"

"More or less," Donato answered. "You see, the Chess game that goes on throughout the academy attracts a lot of press, and every year there's this big exposé for every on each team. They try to ferret out a bunch scandals for the tabloids, but every year for the past two, they were never able to crack Arisu."

"Arisu has been a chess piece for three years now?" Akemi asked in amazement.

"Well out of the six of us, you, Sacha, and Fiona are first-timers to the chess thing, but Fiona and Arisu were roommates from the beginning," Donato explained. "They only implemented the use of the fifth floor this year so they could use it as something more than a storage area. I was the Bishop last year while Arisu was the Knight, and Arisu was the Pawn in my sophomore year. Devon was the Pawn last year, and everyone is convinced he'll be the King next year."

"I don't know," Arisu said from aside as Devon shot her a glare. "Speaking outside my role as the one who truly hates Devon in this group, I think that Sacha would be a better choice for King."

"Why him?" Akemi asked.

"Aside from Fiona's reason for wanting him to be King so she call him, 'your Highness,'" Arisu said as Fiona chuckled nervously. "Sacha has the humility to take responsibility for his actions. And while he's not the easiest person to understand, he's one of those people that you could see in a place of authority, but not too prideful to help his friends."

"Speaking of Sacha, didn't he have a bag like this?" Akemi asked as the other four looked at each, and burst out laughing. "What'd I say?"

"Nothing, you didn't know," Arisu said. "Sacha was chosen as the Bishop in May of last school year, and everyone expected him to be exactly me, only to find him as the way he is. After you find out who the chess pieces are for the next year, aside from the Pawn because they haven't been chosen, you find that everybody tries to get those kinds of autographs that are worth more because they were before the person was really famous. Everybody in that kind of group never warmed up to the guy, for obvious reasons."

"Why was he chosen then, if nobody liked him?" Akemi asked.

"Well, the Bishop isn't chosen by the student body," Fiona answered. "The Bishop is chosen by the teaching foundation for a understanding of the more spiritual essence of Pokémon, and a behavioral record that is above average. A lot of people accused Sacha of being a robot because he wouldn't react to anything. And I've tried everything to get the kid to smile sincerely."

"Well, if he doesn't get mail, what's this?" Akemi asked holding a letter with his name written along the front.

"Let's take a look at that," Arisu said opening the letter, and then reading the contents. "To the Bishop of MoonBeam dorm, Sacha Tatarinov," she read aloud as Sacha listened from the other side of the wall. "You may not know me, but there are many things that I know about you. For instance, you are a snide, condescending person with no regard for regular conversation."

"So not a lover letter?" Devon asked.

"What I also know is that you take all the accolates you receive very lightly, and make it seem as though they mean nothing," Arisu continued reading. "But more than that, you are an idiot to the people around you, who are forced to try to understand your language instead of you trying harder to speak their own. If you wish to prove me wrong, meet me today at seven behind the main school building."

"Does it say who it's from?" Akemi asked.

"No, but it should be easy to figure out," Arisu said holding the note up to the light, and motioning for Akemi. "Tell me what you see."

"Gel pen," Akemi said looking at the paper. "Indicates somebody who appreciates those aesthetics, like a girl. It's a crimson color, which is used to represent blood, and blood always means a threat or some kind of call to revenge."

"If so, how do we know who actually sent the letter?" Donato asked as Akemi took the note from Arisu, and placed it on the coffe table.

"Well," Akemi began thinking it over. "Try to imagine this person in your head; a female who is challenging Sacha because of some kind of condescension. She seems to have a vendetta to pull against either him individually, or MoonBeam as a whole. The clincher I think we're looking for is a chess piece."

"If she is a chess piece, then she would have to be the Knight," Arisu said as she walked over to her folder of the different participants in the campus war. "From my record, there are three different Knights who are female, but only one has ever been so blatant in her hate for MoonBeam. She was ever since she was the Pawn last year."

"Marlen Sasaki?" Akemi asked.

"How'd you know?" Fiona asked.

"When Ike and I battled a few days ago, we were told that we needed a rep from each of our dorms, and he chose this Marlen girl," Akemi explained. "She was definitely bitter againts us, as to why, is anyone's guess."

"Not a hard one," Devon said. "Marlen has always hated the MoonBeam dorm. But when you think about it, even since before any of us came here, the GalaxyStorm was always the one who attacked us first. Going along with that, they were also the ones to lose first."

"That's what unsettling about this whole affair," Arisu said still looking at the note. "Their King is Tyson Arashi, and I can't imagine him being so cryptic about his battle requests."

"But isn't it Marlen's?" Donato asked.

"Tyson calls the shots," Arisu explained. "Even before the game started, I could always see him training with his team, and the whole team listened to him as though he were a real king. He's a stubborn person, and very hot-headed, but more than that, he's an excellent strategist with a high sense of morality. He doesn't indirectly, or cryptically make these battle challenges. Marlen's acting out of her place."

"Why does that matter?" Akemi asked.

"Knights are the piece that everyone in their junior year wants to be," Devon explained. "But their chained to the ground by rules. People go into the job thinking that they can battle at any time, but they have to fill in special request forms to battle another piece if the Pawn hasn't been defeated. The requests have to be three pages of double spaced of formal speech. Along with that, the entire team has to be present for the witnessing of the battle, and the King's consent must be given in advance of the legal matters."

"If Marlen is acting out of her role as a Knight loyal to her King, the battle cannot go through," Fiona asked. "And she'll be suspended from battling the challenged dorm for an entire month."

"And here I thought it would've been nice to be a Knight," Akemi said as Devon gritted his teeth, feeling insulted. "Do you think we should tell Sacha about this?" she asked as her eyes popped open in realization.

"I wouldn't worry about him knowing, or not," Arisu said as she pointed to the open door.

The other four team members turned to look in the open doorway, and saw Sacha watching the four of them with cold eyes as he walked in the room to take the note from Arisu. Reading it over once, he left the room, and opened his PokéBall with Lampent following after him. He looked over at his team through his uncovered eye, and motioned for them to follow.

"Better make sure he doesn't overdo it," Donato said as four out of five of the other members nonchalantly followed after their Bishop.

"Hold on," Akemi said, following sheepishly. "Sacha, are you sure you actually go through this? We could just invalidate the match if Marlen is acting outside her place. Do you really want to do this?"

"Da," Sacha said simply, walking towards the staircase.

"If we accuse her of acting outside her role, she would have something else to hate us for," Arisu said. "The best thing to do is let Tyson take care of her, and if it turns out that she did cheat, Sacha just has to refuse the battle."

"Can't he do that anyway?" Akemi asked.

"Yes, but this way he doesn't have to waste his one time for the month," Arisu answered. "And really that rule is a misread, a Bishop has the ability to invalidate the special rules of other pieces, battles, or tests if they want. So, Sacha has the ultimate decision in this battle. And knowing him, he'll walk away, right?"

"Nyet," Sacha said surprising everybody. "I...no...run...from...battle," he said as he walked the rest of the length of the staircase. "Marlen...need...to...learn...rule."

"Alright, if you say so," Arisu said as the six piled into Donato's car, and drove off towards the school where they knew Sacha's first opponent as a chess piece waited.

* * *

The back side of the school was nearly identical to the front with the exception of the double doors leading to the inside, and instead having a small service entrance for staff, and other employees. About twenty feet from the building itself, a large painted rectangle with a circle in center was set in place as one of the many battlefields around the school campus. On one of the far ends was Marlen, busily tapping her foot in anger as it was approaching the time she had put in the letter.

"Marlen!" Tyson shouted from across the battlefield with the rest of his team following after him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Exactly what you told me to do, your highness," Marlen said rather sullenly as she looked forward. "You approved me to battle Sacha, I don't see the problem."

"I approved a direct challenge, not a letter challenge," Tyson said as she motioned for her. "We're going to have to apologize for their trouble, and then talk about this later. Now come on."

"No," Marlen said. "There's one specific reason as to why this battle must go on."

"And that is?" Tyson asked as a car horn was heard beeping from the back of the school building.

"He's already here," she said as Tyson hurried over to the car. "It's too late, I made Sacha a battle challenge he could never refuse."

"What did you do?" Tyson asked.

"I insulted him," Marlen said simply. "Nothing boils his blood like a insult to both his character, and intelligence. Remember, he can invalidate your command to end the battle as well. The battle will go on, and I will be the victor. MoonBeam's days are numbered."

"Sacha!" Tyson shouted. "Please don't go through with this!"

"Zatkins!" he shouted back with Arisu translating directly after. "We...battle."

"Allow me to introduce the teacher in charge of the CraterStrike dorm, Boutros Girish," Marlen said holding her arms out, and pointing at a middle-aged man with one of the more distinctive looks among teachers.

Boutros was always known as a large man, and for good reason; despite his outward appearance in which he wore more of a robe from his religion, one could see his large, and broad shoulders. Aside from his shoulders, when he extended his hand to Sacha who returned the favor, his arms were shown to be very strong. He was a dark skinned man with dark brown colored eyes to match, wearing a large turban covering much of his shortly cut black hair. From his hair, extending down the sides of his face, he had a mustache, and beard connected all together giving him a very imposing visage.

"While I do not condone the behavior that young Sasaki has exhibited," he started out while shaking Tyson's hand and bowing. "I must abide by the rules of both my faith, which teaches of the values of helping others at their request, and the rule of the school saying that a teacher must be present to witness the result. I apologize for any trouble this causes your position as the King."

"No, I should be the one apologizing for how my subordinate was acting," Tyson said bowing back to him. "I'm sorry to have to drag you away from your students as they prepare for their own battles."

"Why didn't you use your dorm's teacher?" Arisu asked Marlen who merely chuckled.

"Xavier's out for the week," Tyson explained in her stead. "They needed him on a talk show for past league hall of fame members. So we had to find another teacher to referee the battle, and send in the request, and unfortunately for Mr. Girish, Marlen found him first."

"I truly find no inconvenience in this, and find it a privilege to watch a battle with the infamous Sacha Tatarinov," Boutros said. "Now, shall we begin this battle?" he asked as both Sacha and Marlen answered "yes". "Then, prepare your Pokémon," he said holding his arm up as Lampent went to its trainer's side, and Marlen held out her PokéBall. "And begin battle!" Boutros shouted swinging his arm straight downward.

"Togekiss, take 'em out!" Marlen shouted, throwing the capsule to send out an egg shaped bird with a wide smile on its face as Sacha moved his head toward the battlefield with his Pokémon slowly floating to the center of the circular design. "Let's start this out right. Extremespeed!" she shouted as the flying Pokémon sped toward its ghost elemented opponent.

"Why attack it with a normal attack?" Akemi asked.

"It's not for the power," Ike said from the other side as Togekiss was behind Lampent within fractions of a second. "It's for the speed."

"Now, Togekiss!" Marlen shouted as Togekiss lowered its head, becoming coated in a harsh colored light. "Sky Attack!" she called out as the flying Pokémon made a quick dash towards Lampent.

"Right off the bat?" Donato questioned. "Isn't that a little risky?"

"Risky is Marlen's middle name," Zero answered. "She doesn't believe in showing mercy to her opponents. Expecially if they're from MoonBeam."

"That's right!" Marlen shouted. "I can't stand you snobs in that stupid forest, not taking seriously. And I'll prove it to you," she said pointing at Arisu. "And the icing on the cake will be when I defeat you, Arisu. Prepare yourself for that."

"I'll put on my Sunday's best," Arisu said mockingly while Marlen looked back at Togekiss as it travelled closer to Lampent despite it already trying to float away.

"Over before it even started," Marlen said as Sacha finally began to pay attention to the situation. "What now, do you have something to say, Czar?" she asked, mocking him.

"Da," he said as he looked at Lampent who shifted its eyes onto its trainer. "Podnimatʹsya!" he shouted as Lampent stopped and turned to face Togekiss who began to pick up speed.

"What did he say?" Tyson said trying to remember the exact words while Ike sat next to him with a notepad and pencil. "He said that too fast."

Seconds before Togekiss would occupy the same space as it, Lampent slowly began to rise up into the sky as the flying Pokémon sped past it, and tried to turn in order to get into a better position to attack it. As Lampent continued to rise into the air, it looked below it, and turned itself sideways while staying stationary in midair, so as to face Togekiss.

"Plamya Vybrosov!" Sacha called out as Lampent released a constant stream of fire more commonly known as Flamethrower.

Togekiss began to shift its position back and forth in the air, dodging each attack made by Lampent, and then become level with the ghost Pokémon on the air. Sacha and Marlen both looekd straight up, and then down at each other. Sacha kept his eyes fixed on his human opponent while Lampent gave the same stare as its trainer to Togekiss. Marlen gritted her teeth, and clenched her fist as she looked back up at her Pokémon.

"Sky Attack again!" she shouted as Togekiss made a quick dash to charge straight into Lampent.

"Skhoditʹ," Sacha said calmly as Lampent quickly dropped to the ground with the same result as when Togekiss attempted to attack it before.

"Did we get either of those?" Tyson asked as Ike was at a loss for words. "Are you serious!" he asked angrily as he began to bang his hand against the ground while in a pathetic, fetal position.

"We'll just have to think about some other kind of trick to figure out what he says," Ike said as he put his notepad away into his bag. "Chances are, we may never know what the guy says."

"Well that's depressing, now isn't it?" Serena asked never taking her eyes off the battle.

"Like I meant it that way," Ike said as Marlen began to become more irritated on the battlefield.

"She looks like she's gonna blow," Devon said jokingly. "I never realized how frustrating it would be if any of us had to battle him. Trying to figure out if he's attacking, dodging, defending, doing nothing is what you don't want to think about in that situation."

"The only problem with your theory is that Marlen is fighting off of instinct," Arisu said in contrary. "She allows her anger to fuel her strength."

"Fuel her strength?" Akemi asked.

"Emotions play an important role in Pokémon battles," Arisu explained. "If a person feels most at home when they are relaxed, and if they can stay in that state while battling it becomes more natural to them to battle in that style. The same principle applies to someone like Marlen whose anger is what makes her feel most natural. The most important thing, though, is to have some catalyst for this emotion. For Marlen, its her hatred of our dorm, and our fifteen year winning streak."

"What emotion fuels Sacha then?" Akemi asked.

"There are still things about our friend that we don't know," Fiona answered. "Chances are, he's not fueled by any emotion, or he keeps all his emotions bottled up, and ready for use only in battle."

"I'm sick and tired of your condescension!" Marlen shouted. "Why don't you fight me fairly, you idiot!" she asked angrily as the final word in her statement hit Sacha like a ton of bricks.

"Marlen!" Tyson shouted. "You may have gotten away with this, but show proper respect to your opponent."

"How can I show respect to someone who won't even let me know what he says?" she asked as Togekiss charged downwards with another Sky Attack. "He doesn't have the decency to speak the most common language in the world, and he thinks it doesn't affect anyone around him? His own team doesn't understand him half the time!"

"Even still," Tyson said as he and Marlen stared into each other's eyes angrily. "Put yourself in his shoes."

"I'd be surprised if he could speak any English when he first came to this place," Marlen said as Togekiss rammed into Lampent, sending the ghost and fire Pokémon flying into the ground near its trainer, who was still in shock by the statement made by his opponent. "Or do you just hold back? You know, like the snob you are, deciding that English wasn't important to learn?" she asked as she saw Sacha's eyes wide open, and filled with a fear unlike anyone had seen.

"I-Idiot?" he sounded out. "You...call...me...idiot?" he asked as he fell to his knees. "Why? Why...I...idiot? Why?" he asked as he hit his head on the ground below him, and again the image of that kid's frightened face from his nightmare came to him. "Nyet, proshu proshcheniya," he said quickly, over and over. "I...stay...strong...or...he...hurt...me."

"What are you saying, Sacha?" Arisu asked.

"I...hurt...him...badly," Sacha said slowly. "I...burn...him. He...call...me...idiot. I...stay...strong...or...he...come...and...hurt...me."

"Marlen!" Tyson shouted at the GalaxyStorm's Knight. "What are you waiting for?"

"You want me to attack him as he is?" Marlen asked.

"I don't take pleasure in this, but you have to understand that if you don't take this opportunity, you may not get another," Tyson explained. "Would you be condescending to your opponent, by giving them opportunity to recover?"

Marlen's eyes widened in realization, and smiled as she called out to Togekiss. "It ends here! Togekiss, Ancient Power!" she shouted as the flying Pokémon became cloaked in another style of light that began to force several stones into the air. "Attack!" Marlen shouted as the stones were flung into the air, and all began to bludgeon the ghost and fire type.

"I...weak," Sacha said as he watched Lampent being continually beaten by the rocks. "I...stay...strong...to...stay...safe. Lampent," he started. "Demon Ognya!" he shouted as Lampent began to fight the stones back with a continual onslaught from Will O Wisp attacks.

Despite his best efforts, Sacha's Pokémon began to lose its power in the flames, and instantly backed off trying to evade all of the stones. Sacha began watching all the stones, and then moved his head with them.

"Lampent, pravaya storona!" he shouted as Lampent moved off to the right-hand side, dodgin several of the stones. "Levaya storona!" he called out afterwards, prompting Lampent to move off to the left, dodging more of the stones. "Demon Ognya!" Sacha commanded with Lampent releasing more fireballs that were aimed at the Pokémon rather than the stones.

Losing control of the stones as it tried to dodge, Togekiss looked forward to see Lampent already level with it in the air leaving both the Pokémon and its trainer dumbfounded. Marlen looked at Sacha confused, as his eyes were still as wide as they had been after hearing that word, but now his smile was unrecognizable, and almost sinister.

"How lucky," Arisu said as Marlen looked over at the female King. "You were accurate in saying that Sacha probably didn't know any English coming into the school, but there were two words that we didn't have to teach him. It was moves like this that make me wonder if he should've been in SunLight, but the irony probably would have been too much."

"You're point?" Marlen asked.

"You get to hear the two words that Sacha could speak in English without trying or stumbling over," Fiona said. "And every time he does this, it sends a tingle up my spine."

"And those words are?" Tyson asked, joining in on the conversation.

"Lampent," Sacha started as Lampent began to gain power in its internal flame source, before it became too great for it to contain. "...Inferno!" he shouted in flawless English with a brightly, and intensely colored flame began to engulf much of the field.

Togekiss began to fly away from it, but the swirling mass of fire in its pillar form began to suck the flying Pokémon inside from the high velocity. Seeing only its silhouette burn for nearly ten seconds, Marlen's own eyes widened in fear as the fire dissipated, and the flying Pokémon fell to the ground. Marlen was left on the ground, and in shambles after the sight she saw.

"Checkmate," she heard Sacha say as he walked away from the battlefield with Lampent following after him.

"I guess you were right about this battle, weren't you, Taisuke?" Christian said from afar.

"His waiting room is wanting his guilt for burning a young boy's face to be gone from his life," Taisuke said walking away, and back to the dorm. "The question is, can he really atone for what he's done? His fear is what drives his power, and that emotion is always stronger than anger, but it may become bravery as he grows."

* * *

Later that night, Sacha was still not completely recovered from his battle, and, if you wish to call it, his traumatic experience. So much so, it neithered bothered him, nor made him reject it, when Fiona wrapped her arms around him from behind, and placed her chin on his head.

"Do you want to stay in our room, Sacha?" she asked innocently. "I'll help you forget about that battle."

"Don't get any funny ideas, Fiona," Arisu said as she walked by them. "He's only here to tell me what happened, and now that I've got it, maybe he'll have a full night's sleep."

"So what did happen?" Fiona asked.

"I'm not at liberty to say," Arisu said as Sacha walked from the room still looking quite depressed.

"Okay, he's gone," Fiona said as Sacha closed the door. "Now, spill."

"Not gonna happen," Arisu said as she walked into the bathroom, and looked at herself in the mirror. _"To think that Sacha would be so high-strung from being considered an idiot because he couldn't speak English, that he would burn anyone who called him as such. I guess there are things we don't want other people to know about ourselves, but that may become our greatest destroyer."_

* * *

**Dorm Points to Date:**

**CraterStrike: 0**

**GalaxyStorm: 0**

**MoonBeam: 4**

**PlanetFoundation: 0**

**SunLight: 0**

**SuperNova: 0**

* * *

Chapter three complete. Can I say my hands hurt to no end? At any rate, hope you enjoyed one of my longer chapters that I've ever made, and the final count may be more than anything I've ever made before. Maybe this will become some kind of trend. Hopefully you enjoyed the battle a little more, and as time passes who knows? I may actually keep this story up, because some of you know my track record. As said before, my OCs are all filled, so I apologize to those who wanted another in the story, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. and just so some of you know, those who submitted King characters were the ones who made the teachers for their respective dorms.

Credits:

Arisu, Akemi, Donato, Devon, Fiona, and Sacha: NightFall00

Mike/Ike Valentine: Comicfan616

Serena Robinson: Hazelblossom

Marlen Sasaki: FlyPandaBear

Zero Silvers: GhostHuntingLuxray456

Helen Skylon: thesecretkeeper11

Tyson Arashi: Inhuman X

Taisuke Yana: Cyainde the Sneasel

Christian Picklesimer: pokemonmaster111

Boutros Girish: Lazyboredom

Thank you for reading


	5. Asylum!

Hey, everybody! It's me again with another chapter from my chess fanfic. I'm actually trying harder with this story so I can get as many chapters of this one going before I go to college in the middle of September. Obviously, I'm taking breaks in between, but I'd like to update within two to three days for each chapter, and I think I've been pretty consistent, but it's hard writing this without have an actual word program to use. It was so much easier when I knew how much I was actually writing, but I've been able to cope. Okay, my rant is over, and now let's start this chapter, and I'll share something with all of you; my plan is to have each of the MoonBeam members battle, and then mix it up with some of the other characters, I'm hoping to cater to each character by the end of my first college quarter in December. Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF IT DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Asylum!

Protection and security are things that every human should value when they know it to be all around them. And where better to feel secure and protected than on a island with one purpose, and that is to keep its student safe in the process of teaching them the finer points of Pokémon competitve play. But even the most secure places like to keep dark little secrets about how safe and secure their institutions really are. Nix Academy is no different, but even if they were to say that was a potentially dangerous person walking through their halls, they would be sugar-coating it to an extreme. But to him, everything about this is a game, and refuses to call this place his asylum.

* * *

Late on the night of Sacha's win, the MoonBeam dorm surrounded by lightning strikes and rain fall, almost seemed to set the mood as the figure walked through the rain with his sandy brown hair drenched and falling over his face. In between lightning flashes, the features of his face became visible for a split second, but still noticable. His eyes were a dull shade of blue as opposed to some other people already known throughout the school, and underneath were small bags as though he had been sleep-deprived for some time. He was fairly underdressed for the weather wearing only a white t-shirt covered by a dark magenta jacket with long, and wide sleeves with straps attached to the ends of the arm holes, and a pair of black pants and shoes.

He walked to the door of the MoonBeam dorm, and pushed it open, completely bypassing any locking mechanism. Some of the dorm members who were still awake looked in the doorway, and instantly cowered behind the furniture as he passed them. He stopped as he reached the stairs leading to the fifth floor, and looked back at the group of students still awake despite the late hour.

"It's past curfew," he said plainly as the group nodded, and ran towards the stairs, trying to get there first given the older male staring at them.

Whoever he was, he continued to walked up the staircase to the fifth floor of the dorm, and found himself on the same floor as the chess team. Walking slowly through the hall while peeking into each of the doors, seeing the number of people in each of them, and then closing the door, the male sighed depressively as he turned to the final room. As he walked into the last room, and saw Akemi sleeping in the large area by herself. He walked in without making his steps any quieter, and placed his hands on her shoulders. About to shake her awake, the figure looked down at her hand, holding a small canister when she sat up instantly, and sprayed the contents, most likely pepper spray into his eyes.

"Take that, you pervert!" she shouted as the boy was only on the ground for several seconds, before he stood back and faced Akemi.

"I came here to battle, Akemi Tomomiya," the figure said pointing to his ear, where, after adjusting her eyes to the dark, Akemi could see the faint outline of a Rook piece being used as an earring.

"Oh," Akemi said as the figure grabbed her by the hand, and led her out of the dorm. "Don't you think I should get out of my pajamas?"

"I wouldn't worry about it," he said as Akemi looked at him confused. "This won't last long."

* * *

Outside in the rain, Akemi shivered in her pajamas, and a light rain coat she managed to throw on as the figure looked at her with a cold eye. The boy pulled out PokéBall, and held it out in front of him as Akemi did the same. The boy began a countdown from three, and after reaching zero Akemi skittishly threw her PokéBall as the figure threw his with a greater deal of force.

Rotom appeared out of the ball, and began to make sporadic movements back and forth as the rain continued to fall on it. But the Pokémon used by the Rook, still cloaked in the shadows, simply pointed its arm at the ghost and electric mix. Rotom reacted only slightly out of surprise, and then made a quick dash towards the center of the area marked by Akemi and her opponent.

"Thunder!" Akemi shouted as Rotom released a giant electric blast into the air. "This is the only good part of it raining. When in the rain, thunder can't miss," she explained as in the air, the blasted began to mix with other bolts of lightning before raining down on the opposing Pokémon.

"Then let's shine a little light on the situation," he said snapping his fingers prompting his Pokémon to raise its arm to the sky.

"Say what?" Akemi asked as a shining light was seen from the Pokémon's arm that almost seemed to be more cylindrical and hollow.

Releasing the light from its arm, the Pokémon made an unforgettable sneer as the entire scenery lit up, and the multitude of lightning bolts dissipated. Akemi's eyes were blinded by the light, and so were Rotom's as both couldn't see where both the trainer and the Pokémon they were fighting were.

"As I said, this wasn't going to take long," he said as Akemi could barely make out the arm of the Pokémon about to attack. "End this; Flamethrower," he said as the arm produced a fast stream of fire that struck the blinded Rotom.

Rotom blasted back from both the surprise shock of the attack, and the overall power the same attack boasted. Akemi's eyes had finally adjusted to the inappropriate daylight, but the Pokémon used against her was already returned seeing as Rotom was soundly defeated. She turned to her attacker, and stared into his dull eyes with her own frightened eyes. As he began to walk toward her, Akemi began to get even more frightened as the sunlight all around them began to dissipate.

"Stay back," she pleaded. "You can't prove this loss for MoonBeam dorm anyway. You have no proof!"

"I don't know," the boy said picking her up with his arms holding her under neath her legs and back. "The security cameras in front of the dorms should be good enough," he said as the rain quickly returned, and his face was once again, sopping wet. "But now, we can safely assume that not everyone in the MoonBeam dorm is invincible. Not worth my time, between you and me, but the other dorms are in agreement that you need to be stopped."

"How can you do this?" Akemi asked, slightly embarrassed by the position in which he was carrying her in.

"The ability of the Rook is the ability to battle anyone without the consent of the team or teacher, twice per month," he explained. "Not something I enjoy myself, but I must be put at the mercy of the King. The rook is perceived as a castle, or defensive fortress whose sole purpose is to protect a king. In the end, the Rook in this twisted game will have to do things for only the King's sake without the thought of what it will do for the Rook himself."

"Do you have any problem's with that?" Akemi asked as they reached the inside.

"...No," he said. "I've been a slave all my life," he said laying her down on the couch. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he said with a bow, and then making a flicking motion with his hand.

"Wait a sec-..." Akemi said before she passed out with the boy's hand aside her neck.

* * *

Walking towards the eastern end of the island with some help from the transportation system on campus, the boy stayed silent and motionless all the way back. After deborading the subway, he walked another half hour's distance to a more brightly painted dorm as opposed to the darker colored paint used on MoonBeam. Eyeing the sun symbol on the dorm's main entrance, identifying it as the SunLight dorm, the boy walked into the doors to find the inside lobby devoid of any person. Seeing it empty somehow softened his expression, but it failed to brighten the boy at all.

Walking up a spiral case, very much like the one in any of the other dorms, the boy continued to keep his mouth from speaking since his ominous words to Akemi. Reaching the end of the staircase on, presumably, the fifth floor of the dorm, the boy walked by an open door. As he stopped, the rain from the MoonBeam dorm still fell from his hair, and parts of his clothes when he suddenly turned to what was a completely dark room with an expression turning even more stern.

"It's done," he said, walking away from the doorway, and leaving whoever it was in the darkened room.

* * *

In the morning on Sunday, as the morning rays shone all around SunLight in a complete opposite way as they did in MoonBeam, the boy was the first to wake up, but that might have been given the fact he hadn't slept at all last night. He walked through the interior of his single room, and found a small case with an elongated top and curved bottom. He didn't hesitate to study it as much as another person would have, and instead, opened it without a second thought revealing a well-aged violin on the inside.

Tightening the peg near the scroll of the instrument, the boy took the bow with tightly laced Stoutland hairs, and slowly moved it across the strings casuing them to vibrate in a sweet sounding melody. While keeping his chin on the resting spot, the boy looked out of his window to see the entire scenery devoid of any cloud, and sign of rain. Despite all this, which would make any person happy, the boy stayed solemn in his expression, and continued to allow his bow to glide across the strings of his violin with long movements using his entire arm. Beginning to move with the music, he turned to face his door, and saw another figure in the doorway staring at him.

"Enjoying yourself, Austin?" she asked as she walked in.

Compared to the boy named Austin, she was much shorter, maybe not even five feet tall. Also contrasting from Austin, the girl's face was much brighter in expression despite her pale complexion, and her hair was much more controlled, and obviously more taken care of as the orange strands reached down to the middle of her back, and the bangs framed her emerald green eyes. On top of her head, the girl was wearing a pair of green framed goggles, and off to the two sides of her head were twin yellow feathers. Around her neck, the girl wore two necklaces, the first was an orange colored gem shaped like the sun, and the second was a thin piece of strings with a chess piece attached; the king.

"What do you want, Flarita?" Austin asked in reply as he placed the instrument down, and sat next to it on his bed.

"Thought I should let you know that news of you defeating MoonBeam is all over the school now," the girl, Flarita, answered as she gave a quick wave on her way out the door.

"How does everyone know about it if it only happened last night?" Austin asked following after her. "It's not like the dorms have spy cameras all over the place."

"Maybe, but you have to keep in mind where you are," Flarita said as Austin slowed his pace to match hers. "A school where secrets are about as well kept as money in a gambler's wallet. One of the students staying in MoonBeam must've saw your battle with Akemi, and spread the news like wildfire. And given our dorm, that seems to be an appropriate term."

"Whatever," Austin said as he went on ahead towards the spiraling staircase leading down to the lobby. "So long as nobody takes this further than what it needs to go to."

"Then I don't suggest taking another step," another figure said from the door to their room. "Everyone's waiting to talk to you, get an autograph, maybe even shake your hand. Though I should forewarn you."

Austin turned to the open door and lookes at the figure disdainfully. A polite smile decorating his face as the boy from the doorway stared at his teammate. Unlike many of the more prominent figures in the chess war, this boy's physcial features boasted nothing of note; his body, height, and weight were all of avergae builds with no excessive amounts of fat or, at the same time, trace amounts. His hair was more comtrolled than Austin's, and shorter in that it only reaches past the top of his neck and the center of his forehead, leaving his mossy green eyes completely visible. His skin was naturally tanned, and above his left eye was a small scar almost barely noticable. Much like the King behind Austin, the boy wore a necklace with his piece dangling from it; the bishop.

"Warning me, huh?" Austin asked as he continued down the stairs. "All I did was defeat a Pawn, Glenn," he explained to the boy. "Had it been Sacha or Donato it might be different, but the fact remains that I simply defeated a Pawn from that dorm."

With his right foot reaching the end of the staircase, Austin found out all too quickly it would have been worth heeding the warning by the seventeen year old. All around him were people from the same dorm as him with notebooks barely the size needed for schoolwork, cameras all pointed towards him, and eager faces with their hands outstretched.

"What'd he tell you?" Flarita said with a small chuckle. "Glenn's not only insightful, he's also the most social out of all of us. Trust me, between him and the Pawn over in GalaxyStorm, nothing can ever be said without one of them overhearing. Granted with Glenn, it's through the grapevine, and not through pressuring like that nosy reporter."

"You can't defend everything, Flarita," Austin said pushing his way through the giant group. "Anyone could see Glenn as a gossip-hound even if he's just being friendly, but that doesn't mean you have to compare him to others."

Austin walked out of the room, and out into the open air of the dorm. Although, taking even a deep breath in, and looking out over the white beaches just half a mile from the dorm's boundary didn't lighten the modd that Austin gave off. Turning his head towards the residential district's area for family of students, Austin's expression began to darken all the more as his eyes focused deeper and deeper into the interior of the town.

"Soon," he said. "Your shadow will hang over me no longer," he finished as the dark modd was broken by the group of students in his dorm all wanting some sort of autograph.

* * *

Back in the northern area of the campus, the SuperNova dorm was beginning to become much colder than any of the other dorms, given its proximity to a series of caves already encased in ice. In Taisuke's room, the heater had not been turned on, nor did she wear anymore than a light jacket over her uniform as though the cold had no effect on her. She began placing different tarot cards around her table, and then heard a knock on the door next to her.

"Hey, Christian," she said as the King of the dorm walked in silently, and sitting down in front of her. "Nobody else came with you?"

"A lot of them are still asleep, but as soon as they hear the news about Akemi, I don't think it'll be hard for them to wake up," Christian answered. "Consulting the cards again?"

"Yes," Taisuke answered as she reached over the table to first one of five. "About the time Akemi was defeated, I felt something strange in the presence of the one who battled her."

"It's no mystery who did it," Christian said. "That guy, Austin, from the SunLight dorm did her in pretty good."

"Not his identity," Taisuke said. "His aura, so to speak. Often times, it's a misconception that an aura will only react with Pokémon such as Lucario. An aura is a field, or atmosphere we generate by our emotions, and the one named Austin Withers, is the one who gave off the most unpredictable aura ever."

"How do you mean?" Christian asked as Taisuke flipped the first card up, revealing the Hanged Man card. "That's uncertainty. I remember that from Sacha's battle."

"Yes, but in this case, it's more a paradox," Taisuke explained. "Austin wants something to be done, but in the end his own nature tells him to abstain from his desire. Austin is one who hates to be involved in activities, but at the same time, he wishes to achieve this goal, that is only possible by doing the work himself."

"What about the other four?" Christian asked as Taisuke turned the next one over, revealing a card with a skeletal figure holding a giant scythe.

"Death," Taisuke said bluntly. "A card that represents the fear we have of the unknown. It's not as if Austin is necessarily scared of the unknown, but rather, doesn't know how to process it. The Death card can often identify that something will change, and initialy it will be seen as negative, but then after," she contiued as she flipped the next over, depicting what appeared to be an angel, "comes Temperance. Austin will go through a change in his life so drastic, he will need to balance out his old and new. That is, until he is ready to let go of who he was, or what he had, and let the new come in and take over."

"What happens if he doesn't let this new come in?" Christian asked. "What happens if he lets himself become even more cold?"

"This," Taisuke answered while flipping the next card to reveal a horned man. "The Devil. If and when he goes through this transformation, he will find himself unable to make sense of the world, and it will begin to attack him, but not from the outside, but on the inside. Sacha still remains as the Hanged Man, but now, I believe that Austin is in the stage of Death. Ready to tackle the person he was, or the thing he had and change himself, but it will become difficult as he loses perspective of everything with his old."

"Is there a happy ending to this story?" Christian asked looking depressed.

"Maybe," Taisuke said as she turned over the last card, depicting a heavenly being wrapped in a cloth. "The World, a card that describes a cycle must be taken to achieve one's goal. This means that Austin will most likely never find who he is to be, or what his goal truly is until the time is right."

"So he's doomed to be the way he is?" Christian asked.

"Unless the Devil is taken out of the equation," Taisuke started out as she picked up the card. "This circle will continue, and Austin will never move on in his life. After he defeats his Devil, and the World is satisfied, he will become the right person."

"So what's the Devil?" Christian asked.

"That I cannot say for certain," Taisuke answered. "But whatever, or whoever it may be will come soon, and then it will be time for us to make our move. Do you believe Teir is ready?"

"He's not the Rook of our dorm becasue of his pretty face," Christian answered. "But why him?"

"I sense a time that the guardians of the royatly will be needed to save the entire contest from falling into jeopardy," Taisuke said as she put her deck back in, but suddenly froze in position. "Christian, quick!" she said placing the cards on the table. "Cut the deck!"

"Oookay," he said as he took the top half of the deck off of the bottom.

Taisuke quickly took the top card, and nearly fell back onto the floor. "Christian," she started. "This may not be Austin's day to battle his devil, but this will be the day that there is a great power shown to all the academy," she said dropping the card, depicting a very ominous picture of a large, and seemingly feral beast with the caption underneath, "The Strength."

* * *

Towards the middle of the academy island, two dorms, placed relatively close to the school itself stood proud of their position, but both were in a thunderous rage. The first was off to the east of the school itself, and was placed in a very dry and more arid area. On the sign dug into the hardened ground, was a depiction of two cruved lines both reaching from below a straight line, and up to its ends; CraterStrike.

Unlike the other dorms, the inside of CraterStrike dorm was filled with less technology than it was physical entertainment facilities; things like pool tables, foosball, and, in the farther corner, a sand filled punching bag. Up the stairs to the fifth floor, in one of the rooms, with enough space to hold up to six or seven people comfortably, one figure and the teacher in charge of the dorm, Boutros Girish, sat in quiet meditation.

The other figure next to the teacher, a male about eighteen in age with a strong build in his legs, but with a relatively weakly built upperbody. His hair was a darker shade of brown than most others, and was neatly combed off to the right side, leaving it to reach only to the center point of his forehead, and adjacent to his ears going down his neck. Given his hair length, much like Glenn from SunLight, his eyes were completely revealed, but in a brilliant blue rather than a mossy green, and like Glenn, his skin had a more tanned tone. Attached to the belt he wore around a pair of short was a chess piece off to the side; the King.

Unlike his teacher, the boy was much less comfortable by the meditation, but by no means annoyed with the mind focusing technique. Boutros never flinched as he extended his arm in front of the boy quickly making the boy flinch instead.

"Something troubles you, Jared," Boutros said without opening his eyes. "I don't suppose you would tell me what it is?"

"It's not as if I feel that this is a waste of time," the boy, apparently named Jared, began as his breath began to get a little heavy. "But don't you think that this is a good time to attack MoonBeam? With a sudden defeat on their hands, they won't be able to defend themselves against a frontal assault."

"You intelligence, and simple plan is impressive," Boutros said as he moved his hand from in front of Jared. "But you're missing the point in this case. Follow this train of thought; a dorm has had a winning team for the past fifteen years, and each year, the winning team has had people who mimic the ones before them, with obvious exceptions. Also, take into account the minimum number of people who are first time members of the game. If they were attacked by a Rook late into the night, do you believe that a loss would set them back, or entice them to ready themselves for battle?"

"You're point is made," Jared said. "I was only thinking about how I would react in the same situation."

"If you were in the situation, the game would be over for CraterStrike," Boutros said with a slight chuckle. "But it is important to learn from your mistakes," he contineud as he opened his eyes and flipped over his back, and onto his feet. "Reflect on that as you prepare for battle, and don't think in your own shoes."

"Think as your enemy would," Jared said finishing the thought as he too opened his eyes, and stood up, throwing on a dark blue t-shirt that extended to his neck. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Girish."

"Call me Boutros," the teacher said as he left the room.

Just as he left, Boutros passed by two female figures who walked in to the same room as Jared. Jared turned in an instant, and gave a sheepish "hello," giving anyone the impression that he was, by nature, fairly quiet and kind of shy around other people.

The first of the two girls was a younger girl than Jared, making her about sixteen at the oldest with a smaller frame than the King or the one next to her. Her skin was a darker tone than Jared, but not more so than Boutros, to give you a little perspective, and her eyes were stained a brown color just one or two shades darker than her complexion. Her hair was a night black, and reached down past her shoulders by a few inches, and barely around her eyes, with the help of a pink and white headband which held her chess piece in place; the bishop.

The second of them was definitely older than the first, about the same age as Jared, and with a much more matured figure as compared to the other female chess pieces seen prior. her hair was also a black color, but cut much longer, reaching nearly past her waist by a few centimeters. Unlike her two teammates, the older girl had more fair skin complexion, and a sharper shade of blue in her eyes. The larger difference in her eyes was a more stern look in her eyes exuding more authority than Jared. On her right wrist was a large silver bracelet with a shrunken PokéBall, and a chess piece dangling from the end; the queen.

"Is there anything I can help you two with? Candice? Jacqueline?" Jared asked as both girls glared at him sharply, almost angered by his greeting. "My apologies," he said bowing his head, defeated. "Candi? Jackie?" he reiterated as both gave a content smile.

"We just wanted to know what you two were talking about," Jackie said with her arms folded, and one of her hands pointing back to the path Boutros.

"Oh, that?" Jared asked as the other girl, Candi, gave a quick nodded. "It was about what happened last night, and how we should react."

"Jared, mi amigo," Candi started out. "You truly have earned your title as the 'Useless King.'"

"Thank you, for the fiftieth time, Candi," Jared said, slightly annoyed at, but in agreement with the Bishop. "And where did you get from what happened last night, to what people on the other teams call me?"

"Becasue if you were a useful King, you would've battled her instead," Candi said as the two others in the room froze. "Que? What'd I say this time?"

"Something that is otherwise impossible for me," Jared said, leaning against his bed. "How often do I have to remind you that only Rooks can attack people without warning, and in secret?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," Candi said placing a fist on her head. "Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone for a while, adios," she said as she left the room wtih Jared's face painted red.

"Idiot," Jackie said, turning to face Jared whose face's color was just begnining to subside from his sudden blush. "Oh-ho, did you like the idea of us being a couple?" she asked, teasing him with a nudge on the shoulder.

"D-Don't be ridiculous," Jared said. "Anyway, what did you really want to talk about?"

"I think Candi put it pretty nicely," Jackie said while folding her arms again. "You are pretty useless as it is."

"Oh, good, I thought for a minute you were gonna say something insulting," Jared said with a sarcastic smile. "Seriously, do all of you think I'm useless? Considering that only our Pawn has been defeated, I'd say we're doing pretty good."

"I don't think that our current losses are the big issue here," Jackie said as though lecturing her team's King. "I think it's more an issue that we have no wins. If you want to be taken seriously by your army, then you need to be the one to say that we need to start battling. An army can't win by taking out people as _they_ come to _us_."

"You don't think I know that?" Jared asked, looking out the window. "I think about all the other people who would've been better for this kind of title, and they picked me in spite of that. Both the King from SuperNova, and myself are first year chess pieces. We still don't understand how to fully command an army without it pushing us around."

"MoonBeam should be our primary target, so why are you taking about SuperNova?" Jackie asked as Jared sat down.

"Because Boutros showed me how it would be a bad idea to battle them right now," Jared explained. "They'll be more guarded, and the other students, aside from the ones on the team will try to protect their honor. Besides, no war was ever won without at least one casuality. MoonBeam knows this more than anybody. When Tatarinov defeated the Knight from GalaxyStorm, that Sasaki girl, he caught them off guard, and now they're replanning their strategy. In spite of all this, the dorms that have battled the most are the ones that seem to be caught in a never ending battle, especially MoonBeam. And then there's SuperNova, up at the near farthest north you can get, and they haven't had one challenge, let alone a challenge made by one of their own."

"Are you saying they're not expecting it?" Jackie asked.

"Not exactly," Jared answered ambiguously. "Christian from SuperNova consults with the Bishop, Taisuke, every time something happens on campus. I think they're plannign to exploit our weaknesses when we aren't expecting them to know what they are after they haven't battled once."

"So what do you think we should do?" Jackie asked as Candi stuck her head back into the doorway. "Do we fight, or do we wait?"

"If it was based on an absolute decision made by the King, I would rather wait, and see what the outcome is," Jared answered as Jackie and Candi both sighed with a depressed tone. "However," he said as they both perked up. "Jackie is right, a war may not be won by defending alone, but also by having a little offense along with it. Tomorrow, we make inital battle plans, so get that across to the others."

"Got it!" Jackie said as she left.

"Yay! Time for fun!" Candi said as she jumepd up and down while leaving the dorm room.

_"Am I really cut out for this?"_ Jared asked himself with a bead of sweat dropping from his forehead. _"I wonder if the other Kings ever felt like this before. Uncertain of whether or not that the dorm members picked the right person, or if they just wanted to pass of the responsibility to someone else. If I am really the best person for the job, then we'll have to see how my plan goes over with the others."_

* * *

Back in MoonBeam dorm, Akemi was still out cold by Austin's strike to the neck, and was already surrounded by other students staying in the dorm. As she began to moan, and stir in her sleep, many of the students sighed out of relief, but found her to be extremely stiff from her sleeping position, making it hard for her to move. Many of them broke off into their own little circle groups, and tried to decide what to do, when they heard several footsteps travelling down the stair in a fast paced run.

"Where's Akemi?" Arisu asked quickly as she reached the lobby, and saw the current state of her body. "Sacha, if you will. Relieve some of the pressure in her body."

"Da," Sacha said as he moved the other students to the side, and placed his hands on her sides, pressing his thumbs against her hip bones.

Making a circular motion with his thumbs, Sacha stayed focused on Akemi who began to stretch out her body on the couch, and relax with the constant motion. Arisu turned to the group of students, and asked them if they knew what had happened in detail while many of them tried to explain all at once. Arisu sighed as she walked to Akemi, and knelt down next to her.

"What happened last night?" she asked the girl who had just sat up after Sacha's massage.

"Someone woke me up in the middle of the night, and challenged me to a battle," Akemi began to explain. "He led me outside in a hurry, not giving me a chance to change, claiming that our battle wouldn't take long," she continued as the images of last night began flashing before her eyes. "We began our battle, and he used this really bulky Pokémon that had these cylindrical arms," she said recalling just the silhouette of the Pokémon. "He used a Sunny Day and a Flamethrower, and that was all it to beat Rotom. He brought me back inside, and knocked me out."

"Sounds like a Rook," Arisu said as all three heard a loud chuckling from the staircase.

"It doesn't take a genius to know that, Sherlock," Devon said, sitting on one of the steps. "Half of the school knows that Austin Withers is the on that defeated a MoonBeam. It's spreading like wildfire, and given their dorm, that's fairly appropriate juxtaposition if you ask me. Personally, I think we should rectify the situation as quickly as possible."

"Well, _you_ are not the King of this dorm," Arisu said, almost angry with the cocky Knight. "If you think that you can do it better than how I would do it, then why don't you go out and prove it by defeating this guy? Then maybe you'll get a little perspective on the situation."

"Arisu, my friend," Devon said placing his hand on her shoulder before passing by her. "I thought you'd never ask. Have fun, getting the others while I ferret out our little assasin."

"Devon sure is raring to go," Akemi noticed as she turned in her seat to watch him leave the door. "Is he always like that before battle."

"Yeah," Arisu said disdainfully. "Too bad he can't stay like when he actually battles."

"What does she mean by that?" she asked Sacha. "Or do I wanna know?"

"Nyet," Sacha said plainly before following after Devon.

"How close are those two?" Akemi asked.

"Well, those two didn't even know each other personally until this year," Arisu explained as she hoisted Akemi over her shoulder. "Sacha transferred in about half way into the school, and he stayed with me and Fiona for the first week until his room was settled."

"Why was he in with you guys?" Akemi asked shocked by the bluntness Arisu used to answer.

"We were all convinced he was a girl because of his soft features, long hair, and when you really look into his eyes they are pretty warm. Not to mention, he was about a foot shorter than what he is now," Arisu answered as she helped her teammate up the stairs. "When we found out he was a guy, it was because Sacha would continually go into the guy's bath, and we put two and two together. The housing commission moved him, much to Fiona's dismay, and that's the whole sordid story. Granted, Sacha should be the least of our concerns right now. It's Devon you should know some things about."

"Like what?" Akemi asked as they reached the top floor.

"The fact that he's lived on the island for the past fifteen years, and with just his father," Arisu answered, shocking Akemi again by her casual nature in explaining a delicate situation. "Truth be told, I still don't know the whole story, but from what I know, the school is a place that Devon has claimed asylum."

"A-Asylum?" Akemi asked nervous. "You mean he's nuts?"

"In more ways than I'd care to talk about," Arisu said, walking Akemi into her room, and placing her in bed. "A situational rule in the game is set in place for when a Knight challenges a Rook. On both teams, only the Bishop and King have to be present along with the challenged dorm's teacher. So I'll be back in a little while to check up on you, and Fiona will be in to make sure you're comfortable. See ya."

As Arisu left the room, Akemi stared at the ceiling, and thought about how the school could allow a person that were insane to enter the boundaries. And not only for the normal duration of the school years, but for nearly thirteen years prior...at the earliest. Even as Fiona came into the room as Arisu had mentioned, Akemi's thoughts were elsewhere, and she found herself thinking more about Devon in the past hour than she ever had since coming to the school.

* * *

Outside the SunLight dorm, Austin was getting rid of the last of his new admirers, and finally getting back to the fresh air robbed by the giant hoarde. Taking a deep breath in, Austin looked out at the scenery again, and, as always, with a mood darker than MoonBeam's scenery.

"Now why couldn't I wake up to this every morning?" a voice said from above, making Austin turn quickly. "I mean seriously," the voice said, leading up to Devon. "You guys get the beach lifestyle Lilycove or Undella, and we get the sunshine of the Dark Cave back in Johto."

"What do you want?" Austin asked as Devon flipped down from his spot on the roof, and hung upside down to face Austin.

"Well, actuall there are several things; a girlfriend, a sandwich, new pair of shoes, maybe a car someday if Donato lets me drive..." Devon continued to go on for several minutes as Austin slapped his own forehead. "Oh yeah, and revenge for beating our Pawn."

"Are you really so shallow as to make that kind of request because your Pawn, the piece that was inevitably going to be defeated?" Austin asked as Devon began thinking, while still hanging onto the roof's gutter with his shoes.

"In a nutshell...yeah," Devon said, flipping off the roof and directly onto his feet.

"Nut is right," Arisu said from behind him, as both her and Sacha began to come over the hill leading to the dorm. "How did you get here anyway, Devon? You weren't on the train."

"Took my bike," Devon said, pointing over to a bicycle with smoke coming off of the tires.

"Forget I asked," Arisu said. "What do you think Sacha?" she asked as the taller boy stayed motionless like the Austin. "Do you think that Devon has a chance?"

"...Nyet," Sacha said plainly as Devon fell over onto one leg, and glared at him. "He...no...can...control...power."

"Power?" Austin questioned quickly after hearing the word. "You think he'll lose to me because of a lack of control with his power?"

"Da," Sacha answered.

"You dare to say the only reason I'll lose is because of someone's inability to control who they are?" Austin said with rage beginning to rise in his body.

"Wow," Flarita said from behind Austin as she left the dorm followed by Glenn. "Austin's normally so chill with everything. Not often you see him losing his cool at anything. What do you think, Glenn?"

"I think Austin has a superiority complex," Glenn said as Austin shot him a glare like he did at Sacha. "What? She asked me a question. And no offense, but you do have a bit of a temper when it comes to being insulted. Hearing that if the only reason you'd beat the freak is that he doesn't have any control over his power means to insinuate that you have less power."

"_Less_ power?" Austin asked as anger continued to build up inside. "Devon Anderson," he shouted, pointing an angered finger at the Knight. "I challenge you to a battle, right here and right now!"

"Good," Devon said as he folded his arms behind his back. "Saves me writing a formal request. But don't think the pleasantry will help you in this battle."

"Flarita," Austin said without turning to face the female King. "Go get the teacher, and we'll have her referee the match. And I'll prove to you that this child holds nothing against me, even if he had such a power under control."

* * *

Devon, Sacha, and Arisu were led to the back area of the SunLight dorm, and found themselves at one of the private battlefields on campus with its painted borders in a bright red color. Austin kept his arms crossed over his chest, and watched Devon's who wide smile continued to anger him all the more. Unlike in other battles, the witnesses to the battle were on the same side, and Glenn introduced himself to the two members of MoonBeam.

"My apologies for Austin," Glenn said rubbing the back of his neck. "He really is much more nonchalant about everything. I don't know what's gotten into him today."

"It has nothing to do with Austin," Arisu corrected, never turning to face Glenn. "It has everything to do with Devon. No matter who he talks to, he can figure out which buttons to push to anger them into submission. Even some of us in MoonBeam want to kill him, and they're not all on the chess team. Even then, there's at least fifteen people on the chess teams as a whole, excluding MoonBeam, that have him on their hit list."

The strange moment was broken as Flartia came back with one of the dorm teachers running behind her with her with hair, matching Arisu's crimson color, swaying behind her, reaching to the same level as her knees. Her hair also reached in front of her to just above her orange colored eyes, and based on her height as compared to Flarita, she had to be at least six foot two. Unlike the female teacher in charge of MoonBeam, this teacher's attire was more casual with a pair of green shorts, a loose black t-shirt over a long sleeved green shirt.

"If I may introduce, Miss Trinana Washnia," Flarita said as the height difference between them was painfully obvious. "Thanks for doing this, Miss Washnia."

"No problem, shorty," she said tipping Flarita over playfully. "Well, let's get this party started," she said clapping her hands together, and looking out at the two battlers. "Oh, I have to ref for Devon Anderson? This is gonna be a drag."

"Try to take something serious, for once in your life," Austin said, annoyed and exuding mroe authority than the teacher, almost frightening even her. "Just get it started, and then your usefulness will be extinguished."

"What happened to you, Austin?" Washnia asked as she looked at the boy surprised. "You never get this mad, in fact, I remember you as a bit nicer than this."

"I haven't been feeling like myself since last night," Austin admitted as Devon could only chuckle, and give him a smug look.

"Let's just get this over with," Devon said. "There's a show I'm hoping to catch in about an hour, so I don't wanna take too long with you, hothead."

"How can you be so inconsiderate?" Glenn asked.

"I like to think it's the only thing linking my Pokémon and myself," Devon said. "So let's go," he said as Washnia swung her arms down, and both battlers threw their PokéBalls towards the center of the battlefield. "Absol, let's have some fun!"

"Make him burn, Magmortar!" Austin shouted as the largely built fire type stepped out of the white light, and pointed its hollow arm at the dark elemented quadriped.

Without any command by its trainer, the fire type Pokémon blasted a quick Flamethrower at Absol who simply moved its hind legs back, and crouched down. Devon kept the same smile on his face, and waited for the time when the fire was closest to Absol before making a strange sound, resembling a bird call. The fire blasted by Absol, and only its silhouette was visible in the flames as Austin looked at his attack satisfactorily, but only in his eyes.

"So that was it?" he asked as he could see the faint shadow of Absol beginning to walk into the flames. "What? But how?"

"Geez, I'm offended," Devon said as he placed his hand over his heart. "People lose to the MoonBeam for many reasons, and one of the bigger reasons is that they never think of the obvious," he said as his eyes began to widen. "No attack except for Feint can get through to Absol or any Pokémon when they use it. Can you name the move?" he asked mockingly as Austin gritted his teeth.

"...Protect," he said, as though defeated. "You used it with that weird sound when Absol was about to be hit so I wouldn't be able to see the barrier being placed up."

"Well, what do you know," Devon said with a few claps. "It thinks," he said with a definite amount of condescention in his voice. "Absol, Razor Wind!" he shouted as Absol, still prtected by the barrier provided by Protect, began to produce three small whirlwinds. "Attack!" Devon commanded as Absol released the first of three whirlwinds.

Using the first on the fire, Absol jumped out of the flames, able to see the flmaes dissipate as a result of Magmortar's will and the circular motion of the wind. Thrusting its head back and forward, Absol through the other two whirlwind, andaimed directly at its opponent who crossed its arms to protect itself. As the two final whirlwidns impacted with Magmortar, the fire type became preoccupied by the attacks to the point of not noticing Absol already behind its large body.

"Magmortar, behind you!" Austin shouted prompting Magmortar to take one of its arms behind it to attack Absol from close-range.

"Probably not the best idea," Devon said as his smile, just like his eyes, began to grow wider with every passing minute. "Absol, take him out," he said casually with the dark Pokémon making a quick strike upward.

Within the split second window between the command, and the actual attack, Absol's front paw became engulfed in a dark power, and quickly attacked Magmortar under the arm. From the quick impact, Magmortar's arm instantly cramped from the position of the hit, and the fire Pokémon instantly tried to tend to the wound with Absol already facing it.

"What ecstacy," Devon said as his eyes became more dilated, and his smile even wider than before, baring his teeth. "And here I thought you were supposed to be this incredibly strong person with no weaknesses."

"What?" Austin questioned as Magmortar gave a quick smile to him, and nod.

"Often times in series, the silent and modest character is the one who takes on the role of the Mary-Sue, or a character that can't be defeated," Devon as he began to sway back and forth with his arms left limp. "But I guess you're just a moody person with no real gola in life, and the lack of bravery to come out and say that you're weak in heart. Stop me as soon as I get something wrong."

"Shut up," Austin said quietly as Magmortar rose to its feet, and its uninjured arm pointed at Absol. "You have no idea what pain is, and yet you still think you can wear that stupid smile," Austin said looking up, and seeing the look on Devon's face truly horrific.

Devon's neck had been tilted to the right, and his eyes were now wide opened, as well as bloodshirt. As for his smile, the size and width of it was something many people would describe as impossible. But what seemed more reminiscent of a horror novel was the limp posture that he had adopted with his long arms trying to reach to the floor, and the relaxed look of his shoulder that made it seem like he was more of a corpse than a human.

"There's something you need to know about pain," Devon said in a hoase whisper as Absol crouched back over. "You can't experience it until you have begged for death to come, and end it all. Pain is not being able to do anything, and having to live with a smile that is always fake. But more than that, pain is having somebody hate you everyday for the same reason that you believe yourself to be strong. It causes you to question whether you were really worth the time, and if the world would be any different without you."

"What's happening?" Flarita asked as she was already hding behind Arisu.

"The very thing we were wishing to avoid," Arisu answered as she stood up, and motioned for Absol. "Take him out!" she shouted to the dark Pokémon who nodded, and charged at his trainer.

Just before Absol reached its trainer, Devon reached the horn on the one side of its head, and wrestled it to the ground. With Devon already on top of his Pokémon, he just stared down at the Pokémon with no remorse in his eyes, and with the Pokémon giving him a blank stare.

"Arisu is not your trainer," Devon said with a slight chuckle in his voice. "But even more important, do you really want to lose again to SunLight?" he asked the Pokémon's eyes widened. "When we lost that battle, we lost more than we thought; respect, friends, and more than all that, we lost the pride of a trainer and his partner. Do you want that again?" he asked as Absol pushed its trainer off of it, and faced Magmortar again.

"If this the power that you can't control, then it's not what I expected," Austin said with his voice softening. "But something in me is relieved, but I'm at a loss for a reason," he said looking up at the battle. "What did you do to me before?"

"I told you something that could hurt more than any insult or put-down ever could," Devon said looking up at the sky, still swaying back and forth. "The truth."

"Well, whether I wanted to hear it or not, thank you for relieving this stress," Austin said making a bow to Devon who brushed it off. "But the battle must commence," Austin said as he looked up. "Magmortar, Sunny Day!" he called out as a flare shot out from the fire Pokémon's arm towards the sky, and the entire dawn had turned into a bright afternoon sun. "Now, Flamethrower!" he commanded.

"A basic strategy," Arisu said. "Intense sunlight will increase the power of fire type moves, but if Devon is able to control it this time, it won't matter much."

"What kind of condition does he have?" Glenn asked.

"I don't all the details, but I know its some kind of hyperactivity disorder that's brought on by an increase of adrenaline," Arisu answered. "And nothing increases his adrenaline more than battle. Normally it takes within five to ten minutes to get started, and once that happens, there's little that can stop it."

"What's so dangerous about it?" Flarita asked.

"With hyperactivity, Devon also loses his conscience, and ability to feel remorse for his actions," Arisu explained. "He tends to lose his sense of pride as a trainer, and will continue to battle until he loses consciousness."

As the stream of fire impacted with Absol, it didn't take long for Absol to jump backwards with a small burn on its left hind leg. Cringing only slightly, Absol turned to its trainer who began to chuckle all the more sinisterly as he made a single move with his hand and another random noise, but in a much deeper tone.

"Why does he do that?" Glenn asked.

"It's how he attacks in this mode, but he also tends to do that just to annoy people," Arisu explained. "More of it is an instinct based action on Absol's part."

"This battle was fun, but I came here for one purpose, and that was for simple revenge," Devon said as Absol began charging at Magmortar who readied another attack. "And let's face it, revenge is always a dish best served cold."

Austin looked down at the Absol's front paw, and saw the same dark membrane surrounding it. Widening his eyes out of surprise, Austin quickly shouted for Magmortar to cease in his attack, but, as the old saying goes, too little, too late. The paw struck against the fire Pokémon's stomach area, and it began to cringe, before falling to the ground.

"Sucker Punch," Devon said, introducing the attack. "A move that attacks first, and only if the Pokémon it's used against is planning to attack. Would you like another demonstration?" he asked cryptically as Austin looked up at his evil eyes, and then down at his unconscious Pokémon. "Absol, continue the assault!" he commanded as Absol followed its trainer commands, and readied another Sucker Punch.

"Devon, stop!" Arisu shouted as Absol came inches from Magmortar's body when it was launched from its place.

All six students turned to face the spot where Magmortar lay, and saw a Blaziken standing over its body, and an outstretched fist in the same direction that Absol flew in. After placing two and two together, the Pokémon was connected to the teacher who looked at the currently insane Devon with a serious face.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked angrily, as though she were lecturing him.

"That depends on what _you_ think," Devon said with a small chuckle as the teacher's patience began to grow thin.

"You think this is a joke?" she asked as she raised her hand to slap him, but was beat to the punch by a sudden strike from Absol.

"Absol is the only Pokémon we've seen that can actually stop Devon in a single blow," Arisu explained as Sacha walked to the unconscious boy, and slung him over Absol's back. "Our apologies for the developement, but the rules stand that we've won the match, and we bid you a good morning."

As the three MoonBeam walked into the fading sunlight from the Sunny Day attack, Austin looked down at his Pokémon and returned it to the ball. Staring at it, and able to see his own reflection inside it, he gave a loud sigh, and walked to his two teammates. As he faced both of them, he gave a low bow with an apologetic look on his eyes.

"I'm sorry for how I've been acting," he said. "I'm unsure whether it was due to Devon or something else currently on my mind."

"What are you talking about?" Flarita said patting his back. "It happens to best of us, and apparently the worst of us," she said spitefully as she could see the faint silhouette of Devon on his Pokémon's back. "The important thing to take from this is that the truth is not something to be ashamed of."

"In that case, why do you care about the fact that you're so short?" Washnia asked as she walked by the King who tensed her shoulders, and grumbled.

Off in the far distance, Taisuke looked down at the scene, and then at the card she had pulled from the top of the deck labeled as "The Strength."

"As it is supposed to be, the Rooks are the guardians to the royalty, and soon they will face a threat to not only their own teams, but the very future of this contest," she said ominously. "The Stength was meant to show the power that Devon kept inside of him, but the Devil still troubles me. What awaits the fate of those who can one day call the word, 'Checkmate?'"

* * *

**Dorm Points to Date:**

**CraterStrike: 0**

**GalaxyStorm: 2 (Off-Screen: Defeated Pawn from CraterStrike, Pawn from PlanetFoundation)**

**MoonBeam: 9 (Defeated Pawn from GalaxyStorm, Knight from GalaxyStorm, Rook from SunLight)**

**PlanetFoundation: 1 (Off Screen: Defeated Pawn from SunLight)**

**SunLight: 1 (Defeated Pawn from MoonBeam)**

**SuperNova: 0**

* * *

Chapter four complete. Thank you for reading, and I apologize for the lateness, but I figured that I would take a little break, but wanted to finish this chapter first. Chances are, I'll have another chapter in a couple of days for my birthday, but we'll see.

Credits:

Arisu, Sacha, Akemi, Devon: NightFall00

Taisuke Yana: Cyanide the Sneasel

Christian Picklesimer: pokemonmaster111

Austin Withers: The Helpless Romantic

Glenn Tabris: PantherX14

Flarita Taiyo: Leodasdragon

Trinana Washnia: Leodasdragon

Candice Laria Isra: Lolli-S

Jacqueline Reynolds: Mirage Mystery

Jared Frederick: Lazyboredom

Boutros Girish: LazyBoredom


	6. No Matter What Comes I'll Protect Them

Hey, people, I'm back! I know it's been too long, but I went on that writing binge, and we all know how it turned out, so I apologize to all of you who tried to read, vote on, or do anything with those stories, but there is a reason for it...it's just probably not a good one. Anyway, I would like to say that I am getting more ideas as I study the characters in more depth, and this one is going to be one of my longest chapter ever, seeing as there will be appearances from every dorm in this one. Chances are this chapter will be 10,000 words. Let's get started.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

* * *

Chapter 5: No Matter What Comes...I'll Protect Them

Rooks are often considered one of the strongest pieces in chess because unlike knights, bishops, and pawns, the colored square they land is unpredictable. Still not as powerful as the queen, the rook is a piece that is meant to protect, and be the place of security for the royalty pieces. Often depicting some kind of tower-based structure, the different versions of chess can each have their own variations of the rook, but cannot change its purpose. In the same way, the Rook in the game at Nix Academy is often the one who battles the most often, whether it be against other chess pieces, or against the actual students, which is something that is often considered inadvisable. But sometimes, it's inevitable that the Rook will have to step outside its place for the good of the Royalty.

* * *

The residential area of the Nix Academy is often for families and close friends of students who aren't eligible for the academy, or who are waiting to take entrance exams to become part of the family. Often, many of the homes on campus are condominiums, and seen as a step up from the shared dorms that the students live in. According to school rules, students aren't allowed to have the same license that non-student residents have to live in the apartment complexes, but some often make cases that end them living with their families as they begin the transition into dorm life, or just prefer the solo life of a privately owned apartment. Unknown to all of the students, the reasons behind the Rook of MoonBeam dorm, Donato Jacaruso, living off campus are still shrouded in mystery. Some speculate it's due to family reasons, personal reasons, or any combination thereof that really isn't any of their business. Then there are those who try to make it their business, and always with some ulterior motive.

Unlike the MoonBeam dorm five miles away, the sun shown all around the residential area of Nix Academy, but, as expected, later than usual as the winter months were slowly approaching. Alone in his single room, Donato's eyes slowly lifted open, and he instantly sat up calmly to look out his window to see the glorious sunrise inaccesible to the team he battled with. The thought brought a smug grin to his face as he walked into the interior of the apartment, and quickly changed into his uniform. Fastening his tie until it was mere inches from the front of his neck, he brushed his blond hair to the side with his hand, and gave a quick smile to the mirror.

Chuckling about his previous action as he walked down the hallway to the elevator, Donato waved to several of the people on the same floor as him, never losing the charismatic smile no matter who he happened to pass by. Just before reaching the double doors to the elevator car, Donato spied a slightly older woman, by a few years, with curled auburn hair tied up with a blue ribbon, and a kind look in her bright blue eyes walking in the same direction.

"Remind me again how you're related to Austin?" Donato asked as the girl jumped in surprise.

"Oh, Donato, you startled me," she said as her breathing became labored from the shock.

"Yeah, I have that effect on women," Donato said with his usual smile. "As for you, Violet, I must say that I truly must've been born under a lucky star to have a neighbor as kind, beautiful, and efficient in everything as you."

"Okay, okay, let's not get all mushy," the girl, Violet, said. "At any rate, how is Austin doing? I haven't seen him in a week or so, you think I should visit him?"

"I'm not sure," Donato said thinking about the report on the battle between the aforementioned Rook from SunLight, and Devon from his own team. "I think when he got beat by our Knight, it kind of came as a shock to him. Then again, Devon does seem to have that effect on people."

"What kind of effect?" Violet asked as a chime came from the other side of the elevator doors, and opened. "I hear people talking about how he makes everything so dark, but I don't understand."

"Devon just brings out anger in people," Donato explained as he pressed the button on the inside to go to the bottom floor. "Although I hear that anger can help clear the bloodstream. Maybe he should go into therapeutics," he said sarcastically as Violet began chuckling.

As the elevator reached the ground floor, Donato held out his hands to let Violet off first, who accepted his offer, and walked out past the breakfast counter, reaching for an apple in one of the baskets. Rubbing it clean with his shirt, Donato opened the front door of the apartment complex, and began to make his way towards a parking garage in the back. Shuffling through his pocket to find his keys, Donato pulled out the extensive ring, and clicked on an alarm release, and unlock button on an electric controller for his car. Although, instead of hearing the normal sound that would have normally come with turning off the alarm, Donato heard nothing, and rounded the corner.

"What the...?" Donato questioned as he looked at the current condition of the car he drove everyday.

With shards of glass framing the ground around the vehicle, Donato carefully maneuvered through it, and looked along the sides of his car to see the doors dented, painted on, and wrenched open. Moving to the front of it, Donato opened the hood of the car, and could see just about everything inside the engine compartment smashed beyond repair, several of the cables in the front two seats disconnected, and several of the seats themselves slashed. Rubbing his eyes, with a mix of frustration and uncertainty in a loud sigh, Donato sat in one of the slashes seats, and dialed for the authorities.

"Yes...that's right...no, nothing was stolen...alright, see you soon, thank you," he said as the person on the other line asked if he had any idea who would do this. "There are thirty specific people in mind, but there could be more. Okay, goodbye."

* * *

With dawn's early light covering the academy, with the exception of MoonBeam, many of the students were moving quickly to the school building, but for two dorms, it was an easy trip, even by walking. To the academy's main building, the ones closest to the doors are of the CraterStrike and PlanetFoundation dorms. As with any of the school days, homeroom class is based on the six teams preparing battle strategies for the days ahead, or even for the current day. Within one of the rooms, the six members of the CraterStrike dorm had gathered, and just like Arisu had taken command of any battle strategy for MoonBeam, the king Jared Frederick, took lead.

"Hey guys, " he said with a nervous smile as he looked at all the eyes in the room fixed on him. "I'm starting to think it's the real kings that have an easier job in getting their men excited."

"The reason they have it easier is because they now how to do public speaking," somebody from within the group said rather bluntly.

The comment on Jared's leadership lead up to a young girl, about seventeen in age with thick, straight, and layered bronze colored hair reaching to the point parallel to her shoulders. The bangs of her hair were almost swept completely swept to the left, covering her entire forehead from view, and revealing her cobalt eyes. Given she was still sitting, her height was difficult to ascertain, but based on Jacqueline's, the queen of CraterStrike, height while she sat next to her, one could assume she stood at five foot seven. Aside from the normal uniform, the only other things about her attire that was worthy of note was the white hat with a wide brim all around, and pick band leading to a PokéBall top half design in the center, and the bracelet fitted loosely around her wrist with a sword and shield charm along with her respective chess piece; the Knight.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Olivia," Jared said as he turned to the chalkboard in front of him, and placed his hand against it as a brace as his body went limp from depression. "It's not like one of those geeky shows where the main character is the awesome one, and he's surrounded by idiots."

"I'm not even going to honor that comment with a response," another of the team members said from farther in the back.

This one was a male, unlike three of the members already introduced, and much taller than the other members as of far, standing at six feet with a strong build in his shoulders and his core. His hair was a dark brown with no apparent style, reaching down to the center of his neck, and just above his near pitch black eyes. His skin was a light brown complexion, but definitely not to the degree of some of his teammates. Aside from his uniform, and despite the dropping temperature outside, the boy wore a pair of beige sandals, with his chess piece dangling from the collar of his shirt; a Rook.

"Don't expect you to, Chris," Jared said as he turned back to have the other members of his team, noticing that one of them was missing. "Um, where's Adrian? We've got Jackie, Candi, Olivia, and Chris, and me, of course, I thought one of you guys was supposed to wake him up."

"You kidding me?" Olivia asked from her seat. "That guy can get distracted by a ring of keys. And that's not an exaggeration, I jingled my keys in front of his face, and he froze like he was hypnotized."

"Jackie?" Jared said to the Queen seated next to her. "I'm starting to find the problem in our team's situation."

"And that is?" Jackie asked.

"We don't have enough of a team spirit in this place," Jared answered falling limp over onto the podium in the center of the room. "It's why I'm grateful that for today, it's only Chris we need to worry about."

"Why me?" Chris asked finally joining in on the conversation.

"Boutros told me last night that the Rooks from each dorm were having some kind of get together in the deeper forest area, and it's gonna be some kind of big battle royale," Jared answered. "Last one standing gets all the points you would for defeating five Rooks. So if you can win that, we'd be in the lead with twenty five points."

"Why does it have to be so secluded?" Chris asked, finding some kind of interest in the conversation, as opposed to his disintrest before.

"He didn't say," Jared explained. "He told me over the phone, and I think he went through the tunnel in the shopping district because that's when the call was cut short."

"Are the other dorms aware of this?" Jackie asked.

"I'd assume so," Jared said. "This is about the time when they start the events that get the big points, and after this it's going to be about week before they do something with all the Bishops, so you better get ready, Candi," he said to the girl, currently spinning in one of the chairs towards the back. "Ay, dios mio, as she would say," Jared said as he began to rub the temples of his forehead.

"I think you worry too much about things, Jared," Jackie said as the King instantly perked up, and glared at Jackie, remembering how the Queen of his dorm had been acting less than twenty four hours ago. "What did I do?"

"If I recall correctly, you were the one bagging on me to get my rear in gear with the dorm members, and now you're telling me not to worry?" he asked as he stopped to stare for a second. "What the heck is wrong with you people?" he asked while throwing his arms in the air.

"Why don't we just blame it on that Knight from MoonBeam, Devon," Jackie said as Jared turned around quickly, and contemplated that for several minutes. "Everything just seems to get weird whenever he gets ready to battle."

"Hmm," Jared said positively. "I like that idea. From now on, we'll just blame our problems on Devon. And if any of those death threats against him prove pertinent, we'll find somebody else to blame. Agreed?" he asked holding up his hand.

"Agreed!" the four other students in the room said in unison while throwing a single hand in the air.

* * *

Across the school building on the top floor, in one of the farther classrooms towards the end of the halls with a piece of paper on the window reading, "Battle Planning in Progress for PlanetFoundation," three figures sat in the center of the room in a circular pattern with only two of them entirely visible, and the third hiding his head behind a small comic book.

At the front of the circle of the three was the shortest among all of them, a girl standing at five foot two with a small and frail build. Along with the small shape of her body, her head also sported smaller features with an ovalur shaped head, and small nose with her light brown hair reaching to her shoulders and just above her leaf green eyes. Her tanned skin offered little camoflauge to the freckles lining the bridge of her nose giving her that younger appearance. In addition to her uniform, she wore a pair of wire frame glasses sitting on the end of her nose, and her chess piece hung around her neck on a thin wire; a King.

"I would like to call this meeting to order," she said, smacking her hand on the table as to represent a gavel. "Would anybody like to begin this meeting by asking any questions?"

"Sure," a male voice said from beside her, as he stayed leaned back in a chair with a small book in his hands, covering his face. "Why are only half of us here?" he asked removing the book to reveal his features.

Standing no more than six inches taller than the King, the boy looked at her with a relaxed, and almost sedated look in his dull green colored eyes. His body suggested he spent more time inside rather than out, given the build in his shoulders was slightly less prominent than most people his apparent age of seventeen, and the less tanned look he sported as opposed to the two girls in the room with him. His hair, mostly hidden under a white cap along with a black hood, was a Murkrow black color that fringed upward as it spilled out the bottom of the hat. Aside from his uniform, the boy wore, as mentioned, a white cap underneath a black hood from a jacket over his uniform, two earphones poked into the ear canal connected to a small music player on the table, and a laynard going into the right pocket of his jacket with the impression of his chess piece visible; a Rook.

"Well, we needed you for today's challenge with all the Rooks, and we need Danielle here to act as my second in command," the King said bluntly as the Rook next to her gave a sarcastic smile as he looked over at the third figure in the room with her legs crossed over one another, and her arms folded.

The tallest out of all three, standing at five foot ten, and hosting a body much more developed than the King sitting across from her. Her hair was a light blond color, reaching the center of her back tied off in a ponytail, and over one of her eyes, except for the fact her bangs were colored a ghostly white color. Her uncovered eye offered the insight into the idea were eyes were a sea blue color, and were a very inviting shape. Her face, in the same way was kind and gentle in appearance as she stared at both of the other pieces in the room. In addition to her uniform, and given the colder temperature slowly looming over the academy, she also wore a snow white sweater with a Lapras depiction on the front with her chess piece pinned just above her left chest; a Queen.

"Thank you, for that," Danille said as she leaned over onto the table with her hands holding up her head. "But I don't really think it was necessary for me to come if it really is just going to be about Hibiki today," she said pointing to the Rook. "The only time you've ever really brought me to these things is when we talk about MoonBeam, Katherine. And even then it's only finding out things about them, or when you need some kind of plan against that stuck snob of a Queen of theirs."

"Is she still one that?" Hibiki asked Katherine.

"Like an addict on meth," Katherine said as Hibiki cringed, making a sharp inhale as he recoiled back to his seat. "Danielle, when are you going to concede that Fiona is the Queen of MoonBeam, and even if she wasn't, you couldn't be?"

"I'll answer this for her," Hibiki said as Danielle began staring off to the side while tapping her fingers together maliciously. "...Never."

"Do you know that she'll talk about Arisu for hours?" Katherine asked Hibiki as he stared at her confused. "She really keeps her up at night."

"Me too," Hibiki admitted while suddenly realizing what he said. "But probably in a different way. Back on subject, I don't see what's so bad about Fiona anyway. Everybody else seems okay with her," he said as Danielle twitched slightly before grabbing him by the collar.

"She's a woman who gets anything she wants with her body, and won't hesitate to use it for whatever purposes," she said as she inched closer to Hibiki. "The next time that she and I are alone," she said dropping Hibiki to the floor. "It'll be good."

"Remind me not to be in that room with you," Hibiki said as he stood up, and brushed off his jacket. "At any rate, do you have any idea where this event will be, Katherine?" he asked the King lifted up her finger to make a point, and took a breath in.

"Not a clue," she said quickly while the other two stared at her for several seconds before falling to the ground out of finding the situation pathetic. "Hey, give me a break I only got the information this morning. Although part of me wishes that we did know, because this is starting to look like something that happened about two years ago. Do you guys remember?"

"Yeah, an event on campus turned into some kind trap for some of the chess teams and everybody was sure that MoonBeam was behind it," Danielle recalled. "Everyone except for the PlanetFoundation team, that is."

"You were the Pawn that year, weren't you, Danielle?" Katherine asked as Danielle nodded. "The normal students weren't allowed to participate in any kind of interview with the chess teams, but I remember you and Arisu talking about something called, Triple-S, or something."

"Yeah, that's right...Triple-S," Danielle said as she looked out the window towards the forested area. "Hibiki," she started as she walked towards the window. "If you want to stay safe, you'll listen to what I have to say."

* * *

Moving away from the Academy, and towards the northern part where the SuperNova dorm, the caves towards the northern border of the island had already completed been encased in ice, and had been closed off for fear of cave-in. Apparently, there was one person who had skipped the memo, and was inside the cave in a seated position with both of his hands folded inward. His hair fell over his face, and upwards at some parts in a dark sapphire blue color, and his body, from what one could see was fairly muscular, but not from strength, but more of agility, and maneuverability. His skin was more of a pale complexion, most likely form the climate he was currently in, and as he nodded his head slightly, standing up, he stood at about five foot eleven. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of pitch dark glasses, that symbolized that he was either blind or unwilling to show his eyes. In addition to his now chilled uniform, he wore a black double breasted coat with a cell phone hanging just slightly out of the pocket with his chess piece attached on a small strap; a Rook.

As he walked out of the cave, he looked up, finding that two of the more prominent figures from SuperNova were staring down at him with confused looks on their faces. The King, Christian had a more amused face than Taisuke, the Bishop, did. As the boy walked towards them, he stopped, and bowed to the both of them before beginning to walk away again before Christian put his hand on his shoulder.

"Tier, you know you can't be in there, right?" he asked as the boy simply nodded in silence. "Well all right, then, so long as you understand that if you stay in there too long, Taisuke and I will get a stick of dynamite and seal you in there."

"A bit much, don't you think?" Taisuke asked.

"I'm working, be quiet," Christian said as Tier slowly moved the King's hand off of his shoulder, and continued to walk. "Hold up, Tier, this isn't just about your meditation, but mroe or less about today's challenge," he said handing Tier a piece of paper with the specs of the event that the previos two dorms had been discussing. "They'll call you guys out of class, and you'll follow some kind of designated teacher to get their, you understand?" he asked as Tier folded the paper and put it in his coat pocket, nodding affirmatively.

As Tier left the cave area, and back inside the main dorm, Taisuke suddennly cringed next to Christian, and fell down to one knee while weakly pulling out her deck of Tarot cards. Christian looked down at her, and then helped her to her feet while carrying her back to the dorm.

"Can't these premonitions find a better time to hit you?" Christian asked. "You keep getting them in the middle of the night, and now you get them when you're outside. It makes no sense as to why that is."

"Oh, shut up, and cut the deck," she said holding out both of her hands. As Christian put one half of the deck into one of her hands, he reached for the other pile, and pulled one of the other cards that made his eyes widen. "The Devil, am I correct?" she asked as Christian showed her the picture of the horned man. "As I feared. When Austin from SunLight was on a rampage it was a premonition of Devon being the Devil, but in this case, the Devil is some group that has something to do with the event today."

"...Triple-S," Chrisitian said under his breath, as he looked to the side away from Taisuke.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"It's nothing," Christian lied. "Don't worry about it. Yet."

* * *

The inside of the police station on campus was as dark as the people all sitting in line to fill out some kind of form. Donato sat towards the back corner, his expression as dark as Sacha was on a normal day. With his hands folded in front of his face, he seemed to be lost in thought as the police officers in front of him paced back and forth as all the different pieces of evidence were being gathered off of his car. Between his pacing back and forth, the old officer glanced at Donato, and then instantly snapped back to facing forward as the anger on his face became more and more apparent. The door behind both of them swung open, and another officer wearing a white lab coat stepped out as Donato spun around, staring at him expectantly.

"As you requested, Mr. Jacaruso, we've searched the car from top to bottom, and found no evidence of any kind of porcelain or any other glass material that could be used in making a chess piece," the officer said. "In fact there were no identifying symbols that indicated any kind of tampering with the vehicle from any of the other chess teams at the school."

"I see," Donato said as he began to pace the room with both of the officers watching him. "Continuing looking at the car in more detail while I get a rental so I can get my team to school. There are a few phone calls I have to make," Donato explained as he walked out of the police station with several of the officers bowing to him.

"He truly does have this entire island at his fingertips, doesn't he?" the officer in the lab coat asked while the other simply nodded.

Outside of the police station, Donato stared forward, as he began to dial several numbers at once. Hearing the phone ringing only once, he heard a group of voices on the other side, and then smiled to himself with a definite amount of mischief in his expression. After speaking into the phone for several minutes about the finite details of what he wanted, he waited for the responses on the other side.

"You got it, boss," "Anything for you, bud," "If it's for you, Donnie, I'll do anything," were just some of the responses he heard as the call was ended, and Donato was left alone walking towards a car rental lot.

* * *

Back in the dormitory area, towards the southern end, in the GalaxyStorm dorm, the King of the dorm, Tyson Arashi, was pacing circles around one of his teammates, Zero Silvers, or his Rook. As the boy looked back and forth at his King with his black and white hair moving with him, he began to become dizzy from the constant movement, and shook his head to snap out of the sudden vertigo.

"Tyson, if there's something you want to figure out, I think talking would be a good idea," Zero said still watching his King moving bcak and forth around him. "That and everyone else has already gone to class, so if we don't leave soon, we will be late."

"I have a system, don't mess with it," Tyson responded quickly as he never kept his eyes off of the ground in front of him. "Calling only the Rooks out to the middle of the forerst is obviously some kind of trap set by those people, but how can we prove it?"

"You're thinking too much about it," Zero said. "And you know what Ike says about people who think too much; they stop thinking. It's very simple, either the teachers instigated this kind of event, or someone is setting a trap, and there's only one way to tell if it's a trap."

"And that would be, pray tell?" Tyson asked still not looking away from his shoes.

"We spring the trap," Zero said as Tyson froze while on one foot, and immediately pivoted on the one to face Zero. "Think of it this way, if it deals with all the teams, then another oen can't be responsible which puts it into the hands of another student. If it's another student who is doing this, or a group of students then that means they aren't as powerful as us. We weren't chosen as the chess pieces simply for the human side of us, but also for our skills in Pokémon. This means that the other students don't have the same amount of experience, especially against the Rooks seeing as we're all third year students."

"Well when you put it like that," Tyson said a little disdainfully at the intelligence exhibited by his subordinate. "The problem is not them being weaker, but them knowing any kind of weakness that we may have."

"Like what?" Zero asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"I can think of one specific one that gave me a bruise that stayed on my hip for five weeks," Tyson said inching closer to Zero.

"You weren't exactly worthy of gaining my approval for something like that," Zero said knowing full well what Tyson was referring to.

"Even still, it's your weakness, and those people will be waiting to exploit it, and then make it their weapon against both you and the rest of your team," Tyson explained. "You're thinking in a very two-dimensional way, here. You're only taking into account the Pokémon side of things, and leaving out the human side. Every person has a weakness, and if it's the Rooks they want to take out, it wouldn't take long to find some of their weaknesses. Especially yours."

"I take umbridge at that," Zero said as he stared intently at Tyson. "Besides if anything, Hibiki's the most obvious when it comes to his weakness."

"I know that guy really isn't too subtle, despite how he puts it himself," Tyson said. "Have you ever been in that guys room, it's a little more than unsettling."

"It's about as bad as any other guy who has that interest," Zero explained. "The real question, is there any weakness they can have against Donato?"

"The Rook from MoonBeam?" Tyson asked. "Well, from what I know about him, there's nothing really that phases, and he has no relationship with anyone, including his family. There's nobody he actually, and sincerely, cares about. It's just weird that he lives off campus, and has never filled out a single form for any of that kind of stuff in his life."

"Maybe he's some kind of a mafia boss," Zero said jokingly as he and Tyson shared a chuckle over the idea of Donato wearing a formal suit with a rose in his front pocket, and a dark colored fedora. "Yeah, right, like he has those kinds of connections. By the way, Tyson?"

"Yeah?" Tyson asked as he was still thinking of Donato as a mafia boss.

"We'll be late for school if we don't hurry," Zero said plainly as Tyson isntantly erased the image from his mind and sped out of the door behind Zero.

* * *

Towards the eastern end of the campus, just a mile from the SunLight Dorm, Austin, the Rook from said dorm, was already walking ahead of part of his group as the King, Flarita Taiyou, and another girl about the same height as her King with the same relative body type. Her hair, flowing down to her shoulder blades and over her left eye, was a firey red color, much like Arisu's, but seemed to be showing signs of a dark brown color underneath. Her eyes, while one was hidden, were a brough green color with small flecks of a gold color embedded in the green which seemed to accent her peach colored skin quite nicely with her rose colored cheeks. Along with her uniform, she wore a pair of black, fingerless gloves, and a necklace with a shrunken PokéBall attached to the end, along with her respective chess piece; the Queen.

"Do you think that Austin will ever walk to school with us, Flarita?" the Queen asked the King as she thought about it for several seconds before turning to answer.

"No," Flarita answered quite bluntly. "There's definitely a culture gap between the team here, Lina. There's you and me, and we're roommates, so we're close by definition. Austin rooms alone so he's used to not having so many people to talk to, and there's Glenn and our Pawn, Mike, and they seem to get along fine. Then there's our Knight Melissa who, I'm not really sure what to say because she's kinda loud and obnoxious."

"By the way," Lina said holding a note in between her fingers. "This message came for Austin, but he left before I could get it to him. Do you think we should give it to him?"

"Well, let's see," Flarita said looking at the return address, and then gasping at the name. "Nope. If you value you're life, you will not give this to him, whatever you do."

"Why?" Lina asked as she recoiled back from Flarita's warning. "It's just a letter right?"

"Maybe, but this from a woman named Violet Withers," Flarita said as Lina put two and two together, and opened her mouth in realization. "Austin and his sister never get along when they're together. Which gets even worse given that it's been two weeks since the start of the school year, and that constitutes Violet's planned visits. this is probably just some kind of reminder that it's coming up."

Before either of them could dispose of the note, they noticed it no longer in either of their hands. While both scrambled to find it, they noticed Austin and Magmortar standing in front of them, with Austin already holding the opened note. As both cringed in fear from Austin's expression, they both closed their eyes, but felt nothing. They opened their eyes to see Austin already leaving the two while reading the note. After finishing, he held the note in front of Magmortar who shot a small burst of fire at the note, burning it into cinders.

Both Flarita and Lina looked back at Austin as the remainign ashes of the note passed by them in the wind. Austin made a small turn with his head, and made no reaction at their fear, but instead gave a quick wave to them. The two sighed out of relief, and then saw one part of the note that hadn't been burned with three letters on it that made Flarita widen her eyes in fear.

"What's wrong?" Lina asked.

"They're back," Flarita said showing the paper to Lina who made the same reaction.

The two looked back at Austin, and then saw a small cringe in his left hand as he left it out of his pocket with a very visible scar. Noticing it's position, Austin looked back, and quickly hid his hand after seeing Lina and Flarita's reaction to the piece of paper.

* * *

Driving down the street in a car similar in model design to his regular vehicle, Donato's eyes were beginning to soften from his original feelings of anger as he continually glanced down at his cell phone. As he tapped his finger on the steering wheel impatiently he looked ahead to see the five other members of his team waiting on the front porch of the MoonBeam dorm still shrouded in darkness. Pulling up to the side of the dorm, he motioned for the rest of his team to get in without a word, and not explaining his tardiness. As Sacha and Akemi looked at him confused, the other three members saw the impatient look in Donato's eyes, and understood, motioning for the younger members to remain quiet.

"No call back yet?" Arisu asked as Donato simply shook his head, and continued driving down the road. "Do you think they'll be okay? They're dealing with some dangerous people."

"I don't make contacts out of anyone who isn't of some use to me," Donato said as he never moved his body to face the other members. "When they call out the Rooks for the event, nobody is to make any kind of motion until I inform them, understand?" Donato asked as he looked into the rear view mirror to see his team's faces. As all five team members nodded in approval he gave a half smile, and continued down the road to the main school building. "Thank you for understanding," he said as they all unloaded out of the car.

With Donato leaving the other five members as he went to his class, Arisu turned to Sacha and Akemi, and led them to a more secluded corner. Fiona and Devon moved onto their classes, already aware of what was going to happen.

"I guess you're wondering what was with Donato, right?" Arisu asked as both nodded. "Well, this morning I received a call from him that his car had been ransacked, and vadalized. After they inspected it, they found no evidence linking any of the other chess teams to the crime, leaving only one group of people who would have motive to do this."

"SSS," Sacha said surprising Arisu.

"So you know about them," Arisu noticed as Sacha nodded. "Well, for Akemi, SSS, or Triple-S, is a student organization not recognized by the student body or administration."

"What does it stand for?" Akemi asked.

"**S**tudents **S**upporting **S**abotage," Arisu said. "They're a group that doesn't approve of the chess game, calling it demeaning to the other students and seeing it as a form of condescension on others. To show this act of protest, they discreetly attack different members of the chess teams, almost at random, without remorse for their actions. Sometimes, they'll even organize, what seem to be, legitimate events only to ambush the specified members at the given place."

"Is that what today is going to turn into?" Akemi asked.

"Most likely," Arisu said as Sacha left the room. "The last time Triple-S made a blatant move against the chess teams, a student was injured, and everybody blamed MoonBeam. But to be more specific, they blamed me. It was supposed to be an event for all of the Pawns two years ago, and it turned into some kind of mass attack against us. If a member of the chess team is defeated by another student in the same year, they change their positions, and the defeated student is removed from the chess game for the next two years."

"What happened to the injured student?" Akemi asked remembering what she said as the two walked into the interior of the school building. "Did he get removed?"

"Yes, but only temporarily, he wasn't too badly injured, but they didn't want to risk any potential law suit from the family," Arisu explained. "The most important thing to remember, though, is that they're kinda of like you and that Pawn from GalaxyStorm Ike."

"How do you mean?" Akemi asked getting a little nervous.

"They're experts at learning what makes a person tick, and they know how to exploit any kind of weakness," Arisu explained. "The difference is that you use it to defeat you're opponents, not humiliate them, and Ike does it out of instinct. So, try not to think of it as you being like them, but them using the same skill for a worse purpose."

As the two teammates parted ways, Arisu walked into her class, and saw all of the Rooks from the game in her own class, including Donato. From right to left, she could positively identify Tier Trivera of SuperNova, Chris, last name unknown, from CraterStrike, Zero Silvers from GalaxyStorm, Austin Withers of SunLight, and Hibiki Morikushi from PlanetFoundation. Not knowing when the contest would start, Arisu calmly sat in her seat in front of Tier as the latter could barely stand to face her without a tint of red becoming apparent, with her mind constantly racing about the several things that could be used against any one of those six people. The only one person that came to mind was Austin, but not exactly knowing the reason.

* * *

Every student throughout the class anxiously listened to the teacher, but at the same time had tuned their ears into the slight buzzing of the intercom just above the door, including Arisu who looked back at the other Rooks to see all of them, reasonably calm about the situation. She looked at all of them surprised, and with a slight smile on her face, but immediately jumped in her seat as the intercom signlade an announcement about to made. All the students moved closer to the intercom in their seats, waiting to hear the announcement to release the different Rooks from class.

"ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS; THERE HAS BEEN A SCHEDULE CHANGE, AND ALL STUDENTS WILL REPORT TO THEIR LUNCHES AN HOUR LATE TODAY," the voice said as the entirety of the students fell over onto on side. "AND ALL CHESS TEAM ROOKS ARE TO REPORT TO THE FOREST'S EDGE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY."

Hearing the announcement they had been waiting for as a side announcement, made all the students fall back again onto one side as the six different Rooks in the class stood up in their places. As they walked out, Arisu held out her hand in the same instant that Donato passed by, and the two made a quick nod to each other. As soon as the door closed, half of the class grouped towards it, and watched eagerly as the six moved through the halls, knowing full well the seriousness going behind this event.

Outside the forested of the schoo borders closing in on the area round MoonBeam dorm, the six Rooks stood, and looked at each other while noticing a very definite detail missing.

"So, where's the supervisor?" Zero asked as everybody looked around, and shrugged their shoulders, wondering the same thing. "Should we just go?" he asked as Austin was the first to step inside.

"You can stay out here, but there's something that I need to do," Austin said as he clenched his left fist while in his pocket. "I'd prefer to do this alone."

"Yeah, like that's gonna happen," Hibiki said from behind as he took a step further into the forest. "This is supposed to be an actual event,and if we stay out here, what's that gonna say about the other dorms as compared to SunLight?" he asked as Austin stared at him blankly.

"Hey guys?" Zero asked as he, Chris, and Tier looked to their sides. "Where's the MoonBeam guy?" he asked as all five looked around, and then into the forest, figuring that he had already gone one ahead.

Their suspicions were confirmed as they saw a small silhouetted of Donato disappearing into the deeper part of the forest with his hand clenched around something spherical, most likely his PokéBall. The other five Rooks followed after him as the deeper part of the forest began to take away from the sunlight, making the forest appear as it would during the night. While a few of the students, mostly Hibiki and Chris, were finding themselves perplexed by the growing darkness, Tier, Donato, and Austin found no trouble in maneuvering in the dark mostly from each of their experiences in the darker area of the academy, or in Tier's case, always wearing the dark colored glasses.

"Don't you think it would be beneficial to take off those glasses?" Zero asked as he walked by Tier who held his hand out in front of him. "Hmm, guess they don't take away that much form your vision, huh?" he asked as Tier simply nodded, and continued to walk further into the forest.

"My question is, why are you so accustomed to the dark, Austin?" Donato asked without looking back at the SunLight Rook. "SunLight Dorm is located on the opposite end of the school with more of a beach mentality rather than a dark forest like this. So what gives?"

"Can I assume it would be fair to ask you as to why you know your way around this area when your expertise runs only to the main road to the dorm, when picking up your teammates for their classes," Austin said afterwards as Donato gave a small smirk. "You don't follow after many of the MoonBeam's stereotype which makes your case the most interesting. You have a more upbeat personality as opposed to the darker demographic that people such as Sacha has, and you have a calmer presence as compared to students such as Fiona, Akemi, and Devon. The only thing separating you from Arisu is the idea that she is able to keep secrets without being so obvious as to what they are in reality."

"You're point being?" Donato asked as he stopped walking prompting the other Rooks to do the same.

"You can tell everything about me just by asking a simple question, and hearing my answer," Austin said. "Unlike the MoonBeam members who can keep secrets so well, you are apalling at it, but in the same way it works to your advantage."

"He's got a good point," Chris said from the background. "You're trusing nature is what makes people become less prone to put up any kind of defense against you, and they don't think that any information they give you will apply any sort of second meaning."

"All of that helps you to attain a limitless amount of contacts all around the island of this academy whether it be from your own dorm, other dorms, and even in the residential area," Hibiki said calmly as he walked into full view. "It's why you've been clutching your PokéBall, and the cell phone in your pocket. So that when you get your call you'll know everything that happened this morning, and maybe even into last night."

"At the same time," Zero said stepping into the conversation. "You've known from the start that the administration wouldn't make some kind of event overnight, nor would they do so as cryptically as possible that it would take a student grapevine to get the word of mouth going. In short, it's been that group since the start, hasn't it?"

As Donato was surprised at all of the different explanation, he then turned to Tier, who's emotion was completely hidden behind his glasses, almost as though he was expecting another explanation from him. While not hearing anything from his mouth, Donato walked up to him, and went to his side, and waved his hand over his face.

"Anything you wanted to add, Mr. Frosty-Freezy?" Donato asked as Tier held out his PokéBall in front of him, and dropped it, counting down from three to one on his fingers. "So they're here, huh?" he asked as the PokéBall seemed to explode open in a flurry of small Ice Shard attacks being shot from Tier's Pokémon.

As the light receded, and the Pokémon, revealed to be a Glaceon, came into full view, the ice attack ceased, and several people and Pokémon fell from the trees to the ground. Zero walked to one of them, and checked his vital signs to make sure no permanent damage had been done. Turning him on his back, Zero saw a small crest on the left side of the uniform above the normal dorm symbol, depicting three gold, capital letter S's. As the six formed a circle with their backs all to each other, six more people fell from the trees, and stood around the Rooks.

"So these are the new faces of Triple-S," Donato said as the six people chuckle; three males, and three females. "The last group was definitely more threatening as compared to you jokers."

"Watch what you say," the boy standing in front of him said as he flicked his long brown hair out of his face. "You don't know what kind of disadvantage you're in, right now, do you?"

"The point of us bringing you all here was to dispose of all the stronger pieces of the chess teams before going after the weaker ones," one of the female students said from in front of Tier. "We've also been studying everything about you six since you were chosen as the new batch of Rooks. We know all of your weaknesses, as both people and Pokémon."

"As we expected," Zero said as he and Hibiki relaxed in their posture. "You people aren't always the most subtle about your actions. Half of the school knows about Donato's car, and when it was found that there was no one from the chess teams was responsible, you people weren't exactly far from suspicion."

"Besides," Hibiki said as he walked to the girl in front of him. "You really have to do better than this in order to get me distacted," he said as he studied the girl's body from head to toe. "Based on what I see from Danielle everyday, this kind of appeal will have no affect on me," he said as everyone in the immediate area shot him a crossed link. "What?"

"In the famous words of any Pokémon Professor, 'There's a time and place for everything, but this isn't it,'" Chris said with a sigh.

"If playing of some of your weaknesses won't do it, then we'll have to go with the frontal approach," the girl inches from Hibiki said as she pushed herself against him, receiving a small amount of blush from the Rook. "If my appeal doesn't work on you, then her appeal will work on your Pokémon."

"Besides, the others weaknesses are so much easier to isolate," another of the students said from in front of Chris. "Things they prefer to keep secret for fear of humiliation," she said as she slipped closer to him. "Like this..." she said whispering something into his ear as he recoiled back in surprise.

As Chris backed up he could feel Donato's shoulder against, and then saw his head titled downward as though he were defeated in some regard. Chris pushed himself off the MoonBeam Rook, and faced the girl who knew something that he hoped that nobody would. He then looked at the other people as one by one their secrets were being played on.

"Secrets are things that aren't supposed to stay hidden forever," Chris said cryptically as the girl in front of him backed off at the bluntness of his answer. "Everybody has their own secrets, and it's just as easy to keep your own secret by having leverage on the other person, right, Donato?" he asked as the Rook behind was holding his phone to his ear with a slight chuckle.

"My contacts are the best," Donato said as the other Rooks chuckled triumphantly. "Whatever secret you have on us, we can now counter with one that would destroy any of your reputations, aside from you being the leaders of this organization."

"What?" the leader asked as he attempted to grab the phone from Donato, who simply bent his back backwards to a near ninety degree angle. As he slowly rose to a straight position, Donato stared at the leader, expecting some kind of reaction. "You were looking us up, and not who we were?"

"One way to put is that there are people who have eyes working for me, but my favorite way to put it is that I have eyes everywhere," he answered. "The second I knew that none of the chess teams were responsible I just had to think about people connected to the incident two years where Austin's hand was broken, and required stitches, and then took out anybody who would have graduated by then, and then from there it was child's play."

"Impressive," another of the male students said from in front of Austin. "But that still doesn't mean you'll be able to beat us."

"He's right," the leader said holding out his PokéBall in a ready position. "And after we're done with you losers, the royalty pieces won't know what hit them. I mean, a lot of things can happen in the dark," he said while chuckling.

All of the Rooks turned to look at the leader as the other members of Triple-S followed in his chuckle. Their eyes went to Donato, only to find that his normal calm look had been replaced by one of complete rage as he snapped his fingers making the leader look down before hearing a sound travelling through the forest. As he turned to his left, he had only enough time to see the silouhette of Donato's Pokémon speeding towards him in the air before he was launched from his spot, and into one of the nearby trees. As the Pokémon stomped on the ground angrily, revealed as a Scrafty, Donato turned to the other members of Triple-S who all threw their PokéBalls with their Pokémon all coming out as the other members, attacked by Glaceon, regained consciousness, and ordered their Pokémon to attack. Donato turned around and stared at the members and Rooks before focusing his stare on the leaders.

"I don't care who it is, faculty, student, or resident," he said as Scrafty made a chewing and spitting motion. "I will not hesitate to silence anybody that comes to the Royalty while I live."

"Looks like the event will have to be put on hold," Zero said as he became surrounded from all sides. "And here I was hoping for a challenge," he said closed his eyes with the area around him being swallowed in a sandstorm.

In the midst of the sandstorm, the different members began to act more sporadically along with their Pokémon before slashes at by the Pokémon that conjured the weather condition. as the sandstorm dissippated, all the members around Zero had been defeated with a Pokémon standing behind him with its blades held in a ready positions; Gabite.

"This probably isn't worth my time, but if it gets this over with, I'll have to go with it," Austin said while scratching the back of his head as several of the members, including one of the leaders attacked him. "Magmortar, make them burn," he said as his voice began to lessen and become more hoarse.

As all of the Pokémon, along with the given leaders Persian, travelled towards Austin in a straight fashion, Magmortar appeared out of its PokéBall, and pointed its arm at the group, releasing a giant blast of fire in the shape of a lined star, or otherqise known as the Japanese symbol for "big." Striking the Persian first, the Fire Blast attack travelled throughout the group, defeating all of the Pokémon within its first attack.

"Just stay still, ladies," Chris said with a confident voice as the entire group that was ready to attack him was nothing but female. "You'll all get your turn...I promise," as the group attacked him all at once with two of the leader's Pokémon in the mix. "Zero, Now!" Chris said as Zero and Gabite rushed in with another Sandstorm, and the group of swallowed in the weather condition while two Pokémon rushed in, aiming for the leader's Pokémon Haunter and Venomoth.

As the attacks of dragon mixed with what seemed to rock, the leader's Pokémon were quickly defeated as all of the other Pokémon in the group were launched out of the sandstorm, and almost sorted into two large piles. With the sandstorm dissipated the images of Gabite and Chris' Pokémon, Archeops, became all the more apparent while the rival Rooks gave each other a hand shake.

"Looks like, it's just you and me, beautiful," Hibiki said to the girl from other. "Let's make this fast; you have no idea how much the dorm back home likes to make you feel more at home."

"Of course, we wouldn't want to get in the way of your sick dreams," the girl said as her PokéBall opened with a very feminine figure swaying its hips as it emerged from the light. "Jynk, show him true ecstacy," the girl order as the Jynx began to run in Hibiki's direction.

"Sorry, but you just don't do it for me," Hibiki admitted as he dropped his PokéBall to the ground, and swayed back in the same instant that Jynx tried to attack him with an Ice Punch. "X-Scissor, if you would, Gliscor," Hibiki requested as the flying scorpion was already at least fifty feet in the air.

"Jynx, Blizzard!" the girl shouted as the humanoid Pokémon turned its attention to the ground and flying type, releasing a frozen barrage of ice from its mouth.

With its claws already glowing from the preparation of its attack, the Blizzard strikes simply seemed to bounce off of the strength exuded by the attack. With mere feet separating the two Pokémon, Gliscor brought down the X-Scissor attack, and slicing down Jynx's body with a sudden strike that neither of the opponents seemed to perceive until the Pokémon fell from the sudden shock.

"Maybe next time, girl," Hibiki said as he relaxed his posture and gave a quick wave.

On the other side of the fight, the other four rooks watched both Glaceon and Scrafty owned by Tier and Donato, respectively, playing off of each other's move, and building off of what the other did. Defeating each of the members of the sinister group one by one as they did. As soon as it seemed that all of the Pokémon had been defeated, and the other Rooks relaxed, Donato suddenly turned around, and grabbed the final leader's, the one previously attacked, arm, begining to twist it behind his back, and holding him above his head.

"I'll warn you, one more time," Donato said as he threw him across the forest floor. "If you ever threaten the royalty of MoonBeam ever again, you can expect me to step in and stop you."

As the different members, totaling at least eighty people, ran away from the forest, the five Rooks aside from Donato relaxed, and fell to the ground exhausted. Donato walked towards the center of the group, and then turned to face Austin who saw him, acknowledging a silent command to stand up.

"The letter that was sent to you from Violet this morning talked about this, didn't it?" Donato asked as Austin nodded. "So it seemed as though nobody was surprised by this attack, correct?" he asked as everybody nodded, or gave a thumbs-up. "Good, then we can continue the event," Donato said as he began to crack his knuckles with an evil smile.

"Say what?" Hibiki asked as he stumbled to his feet.

"I didn't get all my anger out for my car," Donato said as his shoulders tensed, and it seemed as though an aura of anger began to grow around him. "I need some effigies, and thankfully, you're all willing," he explained as he and Scrafty both inched closer.

"Oh, this ain't gonna end well," Chris said as the battle between the six started, and the rest is left to the imagination.

* * *

Back in the MoonBeam dorm, Donato happily whistled as he stirred a stou for the other members of his team. All of his teammates gave him a strange look as he seemed to add a small bounce in his step as he brought each a bowl of what seemed to be gourmet cooking. All of them looked up at him, and then shrugged their shoulders as they began eating.

"Did something good happen at today's event, Donato?" Akemi asked as her mouth was half full of the stou.

"You could say that," Donato said as he winked at Arisu who returned the favor with an earpiece in the usual place. _"I originally gave that to Arisu to listen in, and make sure nothing went wrong, but instead she got to hear all the battling between us Rooks and Triple-S, and that little battle royale we had afterwards. Too bad I only got five points for it in the end. I wonder if those guys ever got out of the forest."_

* * *

Back in the forest area of the academy boundaries, the five other Rooks with their Pokémon were all piled up on top of one another, defeated, and even more exhausted than before.

"That Donato's a demon," Hibiki said as the others agreed.

_"Maybe that's what Taisuke was referring to when she was talking about that Devil tarot card,"_ Tier contemplated while at the bottom of the group.

* * *

**Dorm Points to Date:**

**CraterStrike: 0**

**GalaxyStorm: 2**

**MoonBeam: 14 (Donato's defeat of the other Rooks was worth only 5 points)**

**PlanetFoundation: 1**

**SunLight: 1**

**SuperNova: 0**

* * *

Chapter five complete. I truly apologize for the wait, and have to say that this was a fun chapter to write, seeing as I got to introduce a whole other plot device. So tell me what you think about Triple-S, and I'll see you guys in week, with another chapter of Checkmate!

Credits:

Arisu, Sacha, Akemi, Devon, Donato, Fiona: Nightfall00

Jared Frederick: Lazyboredom

Jacqueline Roberts: Mirage Mystery

Chris: Detonator Liberation

Olivia Hale: Gentle Blossom

Candice Laria Isra: Lolli-S

Christian Picklesimer: pokemonmaster111

Tier Trivera: Miss Tigger

Taisuke Yana: Cyanide the Sneasel

Katherine Hughes: Kitsunelover300

Danielle Quinn: Acereader55

Hibiki Morikushi: A.I. G-Man

Flarita Taiyo: Leodasdragon

Lina Hikari: The Purple Rose of Desire

Austin Withers: The Helpless Romantic

Tyson Arashi: Inhuman X

Zero Silvers: GhostHuntingLuxray


	7. Battle Royal, Part 1

Hey guys, NightFall here with the newest chapter of my Pokémon chess fanfic. This one is one that I'm kinda excited about seeing as it's my first two part story. As promised to another faithful reader, who is a real ace in their own way, I'm going to start updating thing once a week on either Fridays or Saturdays, depending on my college schedule. Things should be fine so long as finals don't keep me swamped, but if that is the case I'll be posting stuff like th on my profile. So if I don't update by Saturday in any given week, check there for a possible explanation. My plan originally for this was to give each of the MoonBeam characters their own chapters before I start to really get into the other dorms, but as it turned out, I'll have to do the last two in this one two part "episode" you could say. Until then, enjoy.

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

Chapter 6: Battle Royal, Part 1

Royalty has always been a term that has held great meaning for any person, no matter what their lineage, ethnicity, or upbringing. This has always been because royalty has held the meaning of somebody who is superior to another in almost every way. In any sort of media, royalties are seen as the people who are very cultured, sometimes against their will, and are often put into situations that make them wonder what their life would be outside of their duty. Unfortunately, reality doesn't work like the movies, and those who are chained by their duty in royalty are often doomed to stay that way. Others embrace it, humbling themselves to the level of knowing that they can't be free like other people, and it's their cross to bear. In the same way, the Royalty pieces of the game at Nix Academy are of two kinds; the kinds that embrace the idea of royalty, and wish it to never go away. The second is the kind that wishes it didn't exist, and their lives were never ruined in this manner. But the fact remains, the Royalty pieces of the King and Queen are on a level that many of the students at the academy will never reach.

* * *

As September had finally begun to draw to a close, and October began to roll in, the scenery of MoonBeam dorm was as gloomy, frigid, and ominous as one could imagine in the sense of a haunted house. Inside the dorm, on the top floor of the building, all six members of MoonBeam had gathered in Arisu's and Fiona's room for two reasons. As Fiona, Devon, Donato, and Akemi sat at different places around the rectangular table in the center of the room, they looked over at the kitchen area of the room where Arisu was busily working in front of a pot, most likely cooking. As a steam began to rise from the pot, the four members jolted upwards in fear as the vapor produced rose to the ceiling as a dark purple color. At the other end of the room, Sacha had snuck away from the table, and began dialing quietly on a small cell phone with a text message reading, "It's that time of the week." As he stealthily snuck back to his seat, Devon looked at him anxiously while Sacha gave a quick nod.

"Why does Arisu cook so much when the rest of us just get take-out?" Akemi asked in a whisper so that the King wouldn't hear her. "Doesn't she know it tastes like something from the abyss?"

"First off," Fiona started as she could be barely heard by anyone else at the table. "We don't say things like that out loud in a open area where anyone, especially her, can hear it. And second, Arisu's mother is a world-renowned chef who's talent did not pass down the generation, and she doesn't have the heart to tell her _potentially murderous_ daughter she stinks at cooking."

"I mean it's not like she's _that_ bad," Donato said from across the table as a loud explosion rang out from the kitchen area. As the five members looked towards Arisu, they waited for her to make a reaction before she began to stir whatever was in the pot again like nothing had happened. "I take it back...she's horrible, and it was cruel of us to once use our Pokémon to test that stuff," he said looking at the far corner of the room where Scrafty and Absol were on the ground twitching nervously.

"By the way, what was Sacha doing?" Akemi asked as the Bishop pointed to his phone silently. "Oh, you called out for a pizza?" she asked almost audible for everyone else when the other three members put their hands over her mouth.

"That would be too obvious," Devon said. "When you're somebody like Arisu, top of the class in every subject, violent to the point of apocalyptic genocide, and a bit airheaded, you have to be smarter than that. There has to be a reason for somebody like the pizza man to come. But we used that last week, remember? And we had to use the excuse that he brought it for free because of Fiona," he said pointing to the Queen who flicked back her hair as a result of the comment. "No, you gotta switch it up every week, and maybe one day, when we're all on another planet, we'll tell Arisu she cooks like a arthritic leper."

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," Arisu said, still unaware of the conversation being held about her. "I just need to add some more spices." At the sound of the word, all the members of MoonBeam turned to face the spice cabinet, and saw all but one had been taken out. "Ah, habenero, perfect," she said as the rest of the her team's jaws dropped to the floor.

"How is it possible for that many spices to fit into one soup?" Devon asked.

"Ne znayu," Sacha answered, expressing his bewilderment at the situation when a small pounding sound was heard just as Arisu had begun to taste her concoction. "Spasibo," Sacha said while looking upward for a second, expressing his gratitude.

"Could you get that, Sacha?" Arisu asked as she finished taking a small sampling of her food. As Sacha stood up and walked towards the door, he stopped after hearing a painful scream towards the kitchen, and seeing Arisu holding her tongue out, making it appear as though she were on fire.

"Quick, get her some water!" Akemi shouted as the other three backed away slightly knowing full well what was going to happen.

As Akemi began to pour water down Arisu's throat, she felt temporary relief, but the key term in that phrase was temporary with Arisu's motuh burning even more. After opening the door, Sacha walked back into the main room with the King and Queen of PlanetFoundation dorm, Danielle and Katherine, following after him and seeing Arisu in her current state. Akemi began to flail around, not knowing what to do as Sacha pushed her aside, and reached into the refridgerator for a jug of milk, and gave a small glass of the drink to Arisu who quickly drank the entirety of the contents.

"So why did that work?" Akemi asked as some of the other people in the room chuckled.

"Well, the natural spices in peppers like habenero aren't water soluble, which means that they don't dissolve in the stuff, and more, or less, are nutured by it," Donato explained. "The fat content in milk is better for washing down spicy food rather than water. But hey, it was a good dinner show. And it had a moral to it, for two people."

"And what was that?" Devon said leading him on.

"One, never wash your spicy foods with water, and two, don't use the entirety of our spice drawer when cooking our dinner," he said looking at Arisu as the two visitors looked at her surprised.

"You did it again?" Danielle asked as she helped Arisu to her feet. "Listen, why don't you take a break. You've been working so hard for them, so I'll cook, okay?" she asked as Arisu weakly nodded.

"It's amazing that things like this happen when it's my day to do the food for all of us," she as she sat down, seeing all of her teammates facing away from her as though to hide something. "Did I miss something?"

"Nyet," Sacha said quickly as Katherine took a seat next to him.

"Why are you here?" Devon asked quietly. "Sacha sent that to Danielle, and somehow you end up here, why?"

"Danielle told me where she was going, and it seemed like it would be fine to see all of you again," Katherine said rather unconvincingly.

"Give me a break," Fiona said leaning over the table in her seat. "The only person that you ever talk to on this team is Sacha. You just wanted to see him, didn't you?" she asked teasingly as the other girls at the table leaned over to stare at her.

"Yeah, that's unlikely," Katherine said as she looked away to the side, and met Sacha's face making her recoil back with a slight pink tint coming over her face.

"Unlikely is definitely the word I would use," Devon said sarcastically as Katherine shot him a crossed look, and a quizzical look appeared on Sacha's face.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to Arisu about the Battle Royal tomorrow," Katherine said as Arisu, Fiona, and Danielle froze for merely a second before becoming animated again. "I know it's a tense time, especially for MoonBeam."

"I wouldn't say tense," Arisu said. "But when you're dorm has won for fifteen years in a row, it does tend to put the pressure on. Especially when you have no idea what you're going to declare as an order to at least one of the others."

"Excuse me," Akemi said raising her hand. "Speaking as part of the group that has no idea what you're talking, what's this Battle Royale? I noticed you were saying it wrong."

"Not exactly," Arisu said as she leaned backwards in her seat. "It's a common mistake to call it a battle royale, but the actual word is Battle Royal, and it's this event that always happens on the first of October. Think of it as a way to really start of the chess competition."

"And the last two weeks haven't counted because..." Akemi said leading Arisu on.

"The first two weeks of school are exhibition battling," she said as Akemi froze in place, thinking about both battles she had participated in. "What happens after this big battle between all of the Royalty pieces, all the points reset, and any piece that has been removed from the game are returned as though they were never defeated."

"So the first two weeks of this whole thing were all for nothing?" Akemi asked slowly as she tried to process the information being given to her. "So being defeated by Austin, me defeating Ike? That was all nothing to the eyes of the administration?"

"Not necessarily," Donato said from the end of the table. "Any pawns that had been defeated at any time are still counted as defeated to keep the competition moving. This means that your defeat has still been recorded, but the points are reset after this event."

"This is more of a battle to show off the power that all of the Royalty pieces have," Fiona explained. "Let people know who we are on and off the battlefield, and then the beginning of the real tournament starts. And it always starts off with an event for the Bishops. In my opinion, it's the best way for people to see how wonderful my little Sacha is."

_"Little?"_ Arisu thought seeing Sacha's height, even when sitting.

_"Your?"_ Kathering asked with a small vein popping in her forehead.

"Getting back to the topic on hand," Danielle said from the kitchen of the room. "The best part of the Battle Royal is that the winning team can make one command to any other Royalty piece. A few years ago it was always something like the submission of the first twenty points that the dorm wins go to the winners of the Battle Royal, but when Arisu and I got here they turned it into a more dare thing for the Royalty. In some ways, people forced the two Royalty pieces to do something embarassing, and last year the MoonBeam team wanted a complete rewrite of the rules for the individual pieces, and that's why the current rulebook is wrong in a lot of things. This is especially for the Bishop, seeing as Arisu was the Bishop last year."

"Do you two know each other that well?" Akemi asked pointing back and forth from Arisu to Danielle. "Because the way you talk about each other is pretty familiar."

"Arisu and Danielle, along with SunLight's Queen, Lina Hikari, have been friends since birth, you could say," Fiona answered. "The only part of that that's fun for me is that Danielle wants my position so bad," she said tauntingly as the revolutions from Danielle's stirring began to pick up.

"At least I don't have to use my body to win a battle," Danielle said in return as she turned around with an angered look in her eye with a slight smile. "Besides, I don't spend as much time you do flirting with every guy that you see."

"You make it sound like I have no standards," Fiona said as she stood up from the table with the same look on her face. "Besides I have my limits, and I actually have a type."

"Then why not flirt with Devon?" Danielle asked as Fiona looked back, and then back at Danielle confused by her meaning. "Well he's a guy with a pulse, isn't that your type?" she asked as the other people in the room all made a sharp inhale and cringed slightly at the impending doom that was sure to come.

"Oh, sister, at that Battle Royal, I have a very specific idea for what I'm having you do when we win," Fiona said as the two stared into each other's eyes with stray bolts of lightning being produced from in between. "And I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures."

"Okay," Arisu said clapping her hand desperately. "That concludes todays episode of Tae Kwon Do-Dos, and now we will bring back what you all have been waiting for...dinner," she said as she could see the several bowls of soup already filled, and ready to be served.

"Okay," both said as they went to separate ends of the room, and Danielle began passing out the bowls. As she handed one of them to Fiona, the MoonBeam Queen looked at it rather suspiciously, and then back up at her server as she took her place at the opposite end of the table.

"What'd you put in it?" Fiona asked as she began to back away from it.

"Do you think that I would be the kind of person to drug a bowl of soup that might have accidently gone to Arisu?" Danielle asked as Fiona shrugged her shoulders, and took a large portion of it into her system, and stopped to taste. She looked at Danielle and noded satisfactorily, and then suddenly froze in place, and began to crossing her legs multiple times before leaving the table in a rush. "I guess I would if I knew which one had the laxative in it," she said as the rest of the people, minus Sacha of course, began to laugh their heads off.

* * *

After both of the PlanetFoundation members had left the room, and began making their way back to their own dorm, the six MoonBeam members were left alone with the thoughts of Danielle and Fiona's rivalry with each other. With Sacha already in the kitchen handwashing the dishes the rest of the team members were left with Arisu waiting by the bathroom door to check on Fiona, from whom the laxative had yet to pass.

"You ever think about how things would be if Danielle was the Queen of MoonBeam instead of Fiona?" Akemi asked. "They're virtually the same person physically speaking, but Danielle is nice to us, she and Arisu can really talk to each other, and she really knows how to cook."

"Whereas as Fiona is your standard rich kid who thinks more about her personal beauty as opposed to her Pokémon skills," Devon speculated as he was laid out on the couch, holding his stomach as though he had eaten too much of the soup.

"When you think about it, what would we be losing by getting rid of Fiona, and having Danielle?" Donato asked as he began to search for his keys. "I mean, it would be a relief for Sacha," he said as the three looked over at the Bishop with his sleeves rolled up. "What do you think, Sacha? Who would be the better Queen for us?"

"Fiona," Sacha answered as the three nearly fell over out of surprise.

"What?" Devon asked with a definite amount of disbelief in his voice. "The woman that would rather have you as a pet, or some other kind of romantic tool, is the person you would prefer to have as our Queen."

"Da," Sacha said as he turned around and leaned against the sink with his arms behind him. "Fiona is strange person, yes, but she also only person that want to make me smile. I come here, and no one want to be friends with me, but Fiona try to make me her friend, and get me to make smile."

"Your English is definitely improving, Sacha," Arisu said as she stood up from in front of the door. "But there's more than one reason why Fiona is kind of, more or less, needed for our army."

"What? So we can have the eye candy for a bunch of guys?" Devon asked. "We already have you for that, and you're our leader, the best battler on the island, and by comparison, Fiona holds nothing to you."

"She's the only person keeping Sacha alive, in a manner of speaking," Arisu said as Sacha turned back around to his work. "In his first year here, Sacha was known as a basic bully target because of the language barrier, and attempted suicide, but was stopped by our own spoiled rich kid," she said making note of Devon's original comment on their Queen. "She just started hanging around Sacha and became the only thing that kept him from trying to split his wrist open again."

The rest of the members of MoonBeam looked over at Sacha who held up his left wrist, showing a long scar from a jagged instrument.

"Danielle is a nice person, and she's much more higher on the morality level than Fiona," Arisu began. "And truth be told, she's a person I would definitely prefer to Fiona for our Queen, but the fact remains that without Fiona there's really nobody that makes sure that Sacha's always in view."

"So, it's not really a preference for Sacha, but a necessity?" Akemi asked as Sacha rolled his sleeves back down to cover his scar. "I'm sorry, Sacha, we didn't know."

"It's partly his fault for not telling anyone," Donato said as Sacha left the room. "So we can't be held accountable for things we don't know."

"But you can be for certain things you say about others," an angered voice said from the bathroom door as the three members aside from Arisu turned around afraid. "Who was it you called a spoiled rich kid who cared more about her looks than her Pokémon skills?" Fioan asked furiously tapping her foot on the ground enough to times to produce a small crack in the foundation.

As Sacha listened from outside, leaning on the door, and heard the carnage from Fiona's rampage, he pushed himself off the door, made his way out of the hallway, down the spiral staircase, and off to who knows where.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the near frozen area of the campus at SuperNova dorm, the king of said dorm, Christian, was following behind a person much shorter than himself, and even more so than all of the other chess team members introduced thus far. As Christian struggled under the weight of several bags full of what was assumed to fanmail, the girl in front of him looked back to see him struggling, and made a disdainful face.

"You think you can work a bit harder?" she asked as Christian could barely look over the bag filled beyond its limits. "I'd like to get those burned before they freeze," she said as a sudden gust of wind blew by forcing her to hold down one her green newsboy cap.

* * *

As said previously, her body was much smaller, in all ways than anybody else, probably, on campus standing barely at five feet, and with as small of features one could imagine on a body. Underneath her cap was a full head of wavy black hair reaching to the middle area of her back, and her bangs falling just above her oranged hued eyes. Physically speaking, her body appeared to be only thirteen or fourteen years. In addition to her uniform she was currently wearing a thick green jacket from the colder, and a pair of thick black pants instead of a skirt. As stated before, she was wearing a green newsboy cap that had, towards the separation of the bill and hat, her chess piece was pinned; the Queen.

* * *

"If you want it done faster, then do it yourself," Christian said desparately as the wind began to pick up, and he could feel a small sensation of ice forming on the soles of his shoes. "I really didn't want to become Jack Frost, you know. Why not get Tier to help you with this instead?"

"Because that weirdo never has the slightest amount of visible emotion with those stupid glasses on," the girl said as she folded her arms over her body as though angered by either Tier's personality or Christian's complaining. "Just get those in the furnace over here, and you can go back in and complain about the cold with the rest of the pansies."

"You know, Anya, you're a real trifecta," Christian stated as he began to pick up his pace to an outside furnace about a quarter of a mile from the SuperNova dorm.

"How so?" Anya asked as she opened the door to the heated room.

"You're the age of a high school senior," Christian started, throwing the paper bag of letters into the furance itself. "You have the body of a preteen," he said closing the door behind him as he left. "And the mouth of a forty year old," he said staring down at the diminuitive Queen. "You should just adopt the character of the whiny kid, instead of the dominating woman. It would be more appropriate given the current standings," he said placing his hand on her head. "Pun intended," he said before making a quick dash for the dorm with Anya chasing after him.

"When I catch you'll regret the day you became King!" Anya shouted as she held onto her head as either of sign of hating being noted for her size, or keeping her hat from blowing in the wind.

"I regret it everyday," Christian said as he reached the main door of the dorm. "I never wanted to be King of this dorm, but the fact remains that it's out of my power. For now, that is."

"And what the heck do you mean by that?" Anya said struggling to run the last stretch to the dorm.

"For the Battle Royal tomorrow," Christian started. "If we win, I'm going to make a complete change of all Royalty pieces," he declared boldly as Anya sharpened her eyes out of anger, and kicked him in the side while sailing across the air.

"If you completely reset the Royalty, I will personally kill you, slowly, viciously, and painfully," she said with her arms corssed back across her chest, and placing one of her feet on Christian's back.

"You realize that it's going to be a major 'if we win,' right?" Christian asked as he stood up, and opened the door to the dorm. "In order to win the Battle Royal, it's a six way tag-team battle, and the last team standing wins. Arisu Senjougahara has the best chance of winning because she seems to be able to communicate with her Pokémon through telepathy."

"Telepathy is impossible without psychic Pokémon," Ayna noted as she went through the door first. "Besides, if anything, type wise, you have the best chance among the Kings."

"Really? Explain," the King requested not quite convinced by her words.

"Your Pokémon is among the strongest psychic types, it has only two weakness, and with my help those Pokémon won't be much of a problem," Anya began to explain. "Besides, you weren't elected because of your pretty face. All throughout your life you've been just as successful as Arisu in battle. I mean, have you ever lost a battle?" she asked as Christian stopped to think about the inquiry.

"Now that I think about, there really isn't anybody that I've lost to," Christian answered as Anya looked at him triumphantly. "Still not changing my mind about the Royalty change, though," he said as Anya snapped into her anger again, and made another kick towards Christian from behind.

Making a quick side movement, Christian held his arms out to show the path that Anya travelled as she sped past, and inadvertently landed her foot in the face of another person who had just come down the stairs. As Anya fell on him in a seated position, she stopped to look down, and noticed the Pawn chess piece on his pants connected by a chain, and instantly got off.

"Sorry, Rokuro," Anya said as she helped the boy up into a seated position against the wall.

* * *

The boy was about half of a foot less than Christian, and with a weaker build, but by no means weak in of itself. His hair was an auburn color, and fell over his face, ears, and down his neck in a definite shag style. Everything about him was about as average in comparison to the other two members in front of him, and his skin wasn't as pale as the other members of the dorm given the cold weather. Along his face was a series of faded freckles extending from one cheek to the other over the bridge of his nose. As said before, the chess piece attached to a chain to his pants, as identified by Anya, the Pawn.

* * *

"No, Christian probably just said something stupid again, and you missed in your kick," Rokuro said as he brought himself to his feet. "Does this have to do with your thing tomorrow?"

"The Battle Royal? Yeah," Anya said looking at Christian who had already laid himself out on a couch in the lobby. "He said he wants to completely change up the Royalty pieces for all dorms."

"That's no good," another voice said from the stairs coming down. "If Christian leaves, then we really have no chance of winning...or living in some cases."

"Your over analyzing the situation, Parthos," Christian said from the couch.

* * *

The boy who had walked down, appeared to be older than any of the members before seeing as his lower chin, and the spot below his nose were beginning to show signs of facial hair growing into a small beard and moustache, matching the color of his black hair that reached down the sides of his head, and swept over he forehead to keep from going into his dark green eyes. He was built rather stronger than the other members, and was the second tallest as comapred to Christian, standing at five foot eleven. Along with his normal uniform he was currently wearing a black leather jacket with his chess piece hanging from the left side pocket, a Knight.

* * *

"Am I?" the boy asked. "Well, let's look at this logically."

"You?" Christian asked looking up from his spot the Knight who shot him a crossed look out of anger, prompting the King to slowly sink back into the sofa.

"We don't have the one person in this dorm who can beat an opponent with barely a movement, instead we get some two-bit battler who can't even keep up with Rokuro, no offense," he said as Rokuro held up his hand showing his apathetic nature towards the comment. "Then any chance that we have of keeping Anya's dream of beating MoonBeam, and then she takes it out on all of us, and then Christian. To put it another way, 'we lose the strongest, and are left with the weakest.'"

"Was that supposed to be an attempt at poetry or something?" another voice asked from the stairs, as the three members near the stairwell turned to see Taisuke and Tier walking down. "Because I've seen better poetry in a second grade English class, and that's when they do the haiku."

"Do not mock the poetry," Parthos said looking at Taisuke challengingly.

"Then I wouldn't worry about it," Anya said from the side. "She just mocked what you said...and that wasn't poetry."

"Oh, stuff it, shorty," Parthos said as the other members found someplace to hide behind at Anya's anger began to well inside her, resulting in her jumping at, and assaulting him with the rest being left to the imagination.

"They'll be at this for a while," Christian said as he walked around the small dust cloud being produced from the scuffle between the teammates. "Why don't we get some sleep?" he suggested as he walked up the stairs with the rest of team stopping to stare at him. "Don't worry about it, guys," he started. "If Anya and I lose the Battle Royal, I will keep my word to you all, and challenge them directly," he finished before disappearing into the shadows of the stairwell.

"Do you guys think it was a mistake for Christian to become King?" Taisuke asked as the others stopped to think about their King and his reluctance to do anything that had to the chess game. "Half of the time, it just seems that he wants to be normal like the rest of were before this."

"That's the sad part, now isn't?" Parthos as he led the groud back up the stairs. "Unlike us, Christian doesn't know what normal feel likes. And with this competition, I fear that he'll soon never be the person he wants to be. His mind has destroyed his heart. He thinks, and feels no more with each passing battle," he said as though reciting some sort of soliloquiy.

"Boy, you have a flair for the dramatic, don't you?" Rokuro asked as the rest of the team left him behind on the center of the staircase, making the Knight run the rest of the way to catch up.

* * *

In the southern dorm of GalaxyStorm, Tyson Arashi sat at his circular table across from the rest of his team, keeping his hands folded together, and over hsi mouth so as not to directly show his emotion. From the right to the left, he stared at his teammates; Mike/Ike his Pawn, Marlen his Knight, Serena his Bishop, Zero his Rook, and Helen his Queen who stayed slightly farther from the rest of the group. As Tyson kept his gaze on the four members sitting across from him, only taking a second to gaze every so often at Helen, the atmosphere in the room began to become more tense to the pont of choking.

"You know, Tyson," Ike started. "I like it when you stare at us like that and don't talk," he said as Tyson's eyes fixed themselves on him. "It's comforting."

"I can tell when you're being sarcastic, Ike," Tyson said relaxing his posture allowing the others to as well. "I'm just trying to figure out the best course of action in the case we win the Battle Royal."

"Well, at least he's being realistic," Serena noted as she stretched her arms behind her back. "Because, let's face it, SuperNova and MoonBeam are slated as the favorites for this whole thing."

"I wouldn't count PlanetFoundation out either," Helen said from the side holding a small ceramic cup of tea. "You should all know by now that their Queen has already declared war on Fiona from MoonBeam. Apparently, Danielle and Arisu have some kind of history, and she's brooding over the fact that she's not the Queen of said dorm with her."

"That'd be good material for a story," Ike said fully realizing the implications of what could happen between the two dorms.

"Either that, or good material for a manga series," Zero said as he laid back, and streched himself out on the floor. "Two girls with a history just screams a bunch of different situations when you think about it."

"Yeah, well I'd rather not," Marlen said, being the only one still tense in her seated position. "Why are we counting ourselves out when nothing has been set in stone? Let's look at this logically."

"You?" Tyson asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, shut-up," Marlen said as she stood up. "What does MoonBeam have as their strongest Pokémon? An electric type which holds nothing to dragons in the slightest."

"My Pokémon is both dragon and flying," Tyson said. "Electric attacks can still do neautral damage to it, and who knows if Arisu was able to teach that thing Ice Beam, which would be a very bad thing for both Helen and I. Also, take into account of Fiona who has a legitimate ice type Pokémon, so we know that they have at least one Pokémon that can defeat us super effectively. Also, Danielle will be so bent on destroying Fiona she'll attack everybody else in this until it's just her dorm and MoonBeam. Also, SuperNova's secondary type is ice, and while we may not know what their King Christian has, we can assume that he's going to be as strong, or stronger than most of the other royalty. Logical enough for you?"

"Not to mention, we also have Pokémon ranging from all different kinds in terms of the royalty, and some that are equally as strong as our own," Helen said. "Take CraterStrike, for instance, if either of them have a rock type Pokémon, they could easily defeat Tyson because of the flying typing his Pokémon has. Also, if steel comes into question then, they have something that can defend against dragon, which isn't all that easy."

"SunLight in the same way has a person with a Pokémon capable of learning dragon attacks, and executing them as though it were a dragon, whereas our dragon attacks against them will have not as powerful of an effect," Tyson continued to explain. "The fact of the matter is that everybody is afraid of losing to dragons they come up with every possible way to defeat them. That's what puts at a major disadvantage."

"So why are we planning for our victory if we're planning to lose?" Serena asked.

"Whoever said we were planning to lose?" Tyson asked in return. "I just said that if the Pokémon we face are on par with us, then we have no chance, but if our Pokémon are as powerful in comparison to the others as I'm hoping, it's defintiely possible to win. But the fact remains that whether we win or lose, we have to present our condition of a victory at the beginning of the Battle Royal, and if we don't then we're automatically disqualified."

"Why don't we just do something for fun?" Ike asked as the rest of his team turned to stare at him puzzled. "Well, if we're not going to take this seriously in the end, wouldn't it be better to do something that didn't have any effect on the contests as a whole. But in the same way, it would take away from one of the teams in the contest so that we can gain an advantage against them. It's a journalistic trick, do something that seems harmless, and when your subject is at its weakest you attack."

The rest of the team stayed silent as Tyons suddenly placed his hand under his chin, and began to contemplate that suggestiong seriously. As he did, the other members of the team turned to face him in a jerking motion all shocked to see him actually taking the idea seriously.

"I like it," Tyson said as the other four members aside from Ike dropped to their jaws to the floor as the King kept the seriousness on his face. "If our enemies don't take us seriously then we can storm after them all at once in a giant blitzkreig."

_"That's the reasoning he came up with?"_ Helen asked herself as the thought of strangling the King became all the more tempting.

"Only one question, Tyson," Ike said raising his hand as the King looked up at him expectantly. "Who do we prank?" he asked as the entire room froze out of realization, and Tyson looked to the side.

"We are doomed," he said.

* * *

Towards the eastern border of the island, in the SunLight dorm, inside the front lobby as opposed to the fifth floor rooms, all six members of the chess team from said dorm had gathered with only two left unknown at the time. From the right going in a large circle around the coffee table sat the King Flarita, the Queen Lina, the Rook Austin, and unknown Knight, the Bishop Glenn, and an unknown Pawn.

* * *

In between Glenn and Austin sat a girl about the same age as the Bishop, with straight, jet black hair reaching down to her shoulders and just above her dark blue eyes with purple streaks dyed into the strands. She was probably as tall as Austin seeing as both were seated in the same position, and her head was at least six inches below his. Along the bridge of her nose, and partly on her cheeks were a series of scattered freckles. As she was wearing her normal uniform, a small mark on the lower part of her thigh was visible in the shape of what appeared to be a fireball. Along with her uniform, she wore all the way up her forearm a bandage wrapped tightly around, and her Knight chess piece clipped to the bandage.

In between Glenn and Flarita, the pawn was a younger boy by only a year as compared to the Bishop. Slightly taller than the female Knight by about three inches, the Pawn had short black hair that spiked as it reached the end giving a much better view of his deep brown eyes, and that one eye had a slightly lighter hue of the color. All around, his basic body structure was fairly regular, not showing any signs of excelling in any one area, and his skin tone boasted a fading tan as though his skin changed colorrather rapidly in the sun. In addition to his uniform, the boy's Pawn was worn, like many others as a necklace dangling several inches from his jugular.

* * *

Even while the six people turned to face each other at certain times, nobody was willing to start up any form of conversation, and when Austin stood up from his seat, the other members of the team all jolted out of surprise. The silence continued even as the Rook walked up the stairs, mostly likely to his own room. Before Glenn could speak up about the subject, Flarita held up her hand to stop him, and signaled for him to just wait for the end result. Within several minutes of his leaving, Austin returned with his violin case, and walked towards the far wall preparing the instrument.

The other five members turned to face Austin as he began to glide the bow across the strings of the instrument in its sorrowful melody that began to fill the room. With the music occupying their minds, the different people from the chess team began to close their eyes, and focus only on the music. With the ending of the song, Flarita's eyes isntantly popped open, resulting in her jumping up excited.

"I've got it!" she declared as she looked at Austin who stroking the hairs of his bow with a rosin. "Thank you, Austin," she said as the Rook silently bowed out of acceptance of the thanks, and left to put away his violin. "I guess its true that music can clear the mind."

"As you were saying about having it?" Lina asked as Flarita snapped back into her original mindset.

"I finally know what I'm going to have declared as an order in the result of our victory in the Battle Royal," Flarita answered. "If we win, then we will make the SuperNova dorm Pawn challenge Austin to a battle right then and there, and then we can begin our assault on the dorm."

"I have a question?" the Knight asked as Flarita turned to her. "Are you saying that we're just going to make another battle progress that can happen at any time that Austin decides to get on a metro?" she asked as Austin returned to the lobby.

"Do you have to be so realistic, Melissa?" Flarita asked the Knight who gave a wide smile. "I mean you know how words are supposed to have deeper meanings than what you might be thinking are said, right? Well the word 'realistic' has two other meanings, in my book, 'depressive' and 'pessimistic.'"

"Small book," Melissa said plainly as the King made a quick motoin up with a clenched fist only to be slowed by Lina. "I'm just trying to say that if we're going to do something that can already happen in the course of the year, then what's the point of getting it done with now?" she asked as all the other members fell silent.

"She's kinda got a point," Glenn noted. "We need to come up with something that we can't be sure that it will happen during the year. More of something embarassing to another team, or maybe even just one of the royalty pieces."

"Like what?" Austin asked as the other members all hung their heads down out of disappointment in both themselves and their peers for not coming up with the obvious questions sooner.

"You got anything, Mike?" Flarita asked as the Pawn next to her jolted upwards at the sound of his name, but then back down, as though he weren't interested in answering her question. "Hello?" she asked waving a hand over his face. "Don't you have any ideas?"

"...Nothing," the Pawn said as he stood up from his seat, and began to walk towards the stairs. "I have some things to do, excuse me," he finished as he turned and made a quick bow to the other members of his team.

"Still not any better, is he?" Flarita asked as Glenn shook his head negatively. "He's been scared of us since he got here. There's gotta be something we can do about it," she said as she began thinking about the Pawn, Mike's anti-social nature as opposed to the current issue at hand. "We gotta find what's making him so uneasy," she said pacing around the table, and then stopping directly behind Austin.

Looking at the rest of her team, she raised an eyebrow, and then waited for them to all make a single nod. Austin rolled his eyes at the situation, and then stood up, walking up the stairs again.

"Boy," Melissa said watching Austin climb up the stairwell. "With ups and downs like that, who needs a work-out regimen."

"You know, I think there's a way we can solve both of our problems with one solution," Lina said as the other three members huddled inward. "Glenn, this is more of a female topic, and as such, private when it comes to participants of more male persuasion," she said looking up from the huddle with an annoyed look on her face.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't tell anybody," Glenn said as the response proceeded to get him kicked out of the room, literally, by Lina who clapped her hands from the imaginary dust afterwards.

"As I was saying," Lina said as she began walking back to the center of the room only to turn around again to see Glenn's head sticking out of the opening to the staircase. "Hey, Austin, we got another person for you to talk to!" Lina shouted as Glenn cringed before running back up the stairs. "Finally. Now here's my plan..."

* * *

Just west of the SunLight dorm, the CraterStrike dorm was much more live, but probably not as orderly as the King of the dorm, Jared, would prefer. With them situated in the lobby while the fifth floor was undergoing cleaning, many of the other students had come down to the lobby to have their own private conversations with the six people. Between Candi's sampling other people's sweets, Chris chatting up ever girl in the room, Olivia helping several of the students with some kind of studying, and a final person, most likely th Pawn mentioned as Adrian, sitting in front of the couch in a hunched position watching television, both Jared and Jackie found the situation entirely doomed for them.

* * *

As a sudden movement was initiated by the Pawn, he straightened himself out before pulling on the end of his jacket and walked towards the two royalty pieces. As he walked over in a hunched position his feature began to become mroe clear amidst all the people in the room. Standing at approximately five foot eight, well a couple inches short because of the posture, with a regular build, Adrian's more defining features were his more lean build as opposed to some of the other male students in CraterStrike where a muscular build was the prevailing shape, and his dark colored hair styled in a faux-hawk that probably kept the rest out of his eyes. As he walked, one could easily find where his chess piece was placed around a chain on his ankle making his walk towards the royalty all the more apparent.

* * *

"Out of curiosity," he began as he looked around at the number of people. "Were we going to decide on the Battle Royal outcome as a team, or as a dorm? Because that second one is starting to become much more possible."

"As a team, but you know how aloof this dorm is," Jared said as he rubbed the back of his neck, walking towards one of the empty couches. "I have to ask, is this my fault? Is it because I can't exude enough authority, or is it because I'm really just lousy at what I'm supposed to do?"

"Part of it may be your use of redundant sentences like that, for starters," Olivia said from the side.

"Also, it's probably you aren't well-known throughout the school yet," Chris noted. "You can't expect a whole group of people to respect you if you don't; A, make it clear that you're the boss of this team, and B, make a name for yourself. My thought is that if you want to prove to the rest of the school you're worthy of your title, you're going to have to prove you're a competent battler during the Royal tomorrow."

"But what if I can't?" Jared asked as the four members in the conversation looked at each other ending with Jackie pointing at him with a blnk look on her face.

"Dead man walking!" she shouted as the rest of the dorm saw Jared in his defeated position on the sofa.

"That bad, huh?" he asked.

"You all worry too much," Candi said walking towards the group. "Besides, you can't die if you eat," she said as she offered Jared a handful of candies. "Okay, vamonos muchachos!" she said to the rest of the dorm as she began to shoo them off.

"Why did you do that?" Chris asked.

"I didn't want to them stealing Jared's candy," Candi answered as the other four members aside from her and Jared fell off to one side.

"You really are clueless about everything, aren't you?" Olivia asked. "Even Adrian could figure out the situation, and I can shine a light in his eyes and get him to follow it."

"You got me drunk first, then you could confuse me to no end," Adrian made clear as the rest of his team looked at him. "She said it was low concentration alcohol. Turned out to be pure rice wine. One sip, and I was all like this," he said before showing how limp he was walking while drunk.

Jared hung his head back down low, and began to wrack his brain over the current situation as the lobby had finally become quiet again. As he stood up, and looked at a map of the academy, he drew a line between CraterStrike and MoonBeam dorm, turning around.

"This is the ultimate team in the entire school," he started as he walked towards the center of the room. "They've won for fifteen years, using similar tactics, and seemingly with people who all copied the last ones before them in at least one single trait. How do we fight somebody like that?" he asked as Candi thought, and then raised her hand only for it to be forced down by Jackie. "The truth is, we can't," he said as he began to look back at the map, and then drew lines around the entire academy. "The problem we have is that we're too focused on our ultimate goal. Forgive me for sounding like a procrastinater here, but what if we stop worrying about MoonBeam, and keep in mind that our team is almost exactly like theirs in some respects?" he explained as his morale began to lift. "We have a Pawn who doesn't understand some of the implications that this game has," he contniued turning to Adrian. "We have people with secrets, abilities, and other strengths that the other dorms don't."

"So what does that tell you?" Jackie asked.

"That Boutros was right all along," Jared answered. "During the time when Akemi was defeated, he told me to stop thinking in my own shoes, and start to think in my opponents. People have this idea that the MoonBeam team is full of supernaturalists when in reality, they're just people who have a higher ability than others in competition. But isn't that the same reason that we're in this competition? Because of our higher ability?" he asked his team. "Arisu and Fiona are two people who were chosen for the same reasons we were, and in the end, they will be just people, and nobody will ever be able to tell without studying them that they were perceived as truly special. By comparison if everyone is special in their own way, then it's just another way of saying that nobody is."

After his speech, the rest of Jared's team was flabbergasted. Unaware that their King was such a natural speaker, the five members began to applaude him, and as Jared looked behind him, he could see Boutros standing in the doorway with a thumbs-up.

"I have one question, mi Rey," Candi said as Jared looked at her. "What do we do if we win the Battle Royal?" she asked as the atmosphere froze, and immediately dropped to the point of Jared crawling back into a fetal position in the corner drawing circles in the rug with his fingers. "Oh, que la."

"We have a lot of work to do until that confidence shines through indefinitely," Jackie said rubbing her eyes as Jared fell off to one side still huddled in his fetal position.

* * *

Almost two miles away from the CraterStrike dorm, the PlanetFoundation dorm was less lively from the rest of the students as it was lively from Danielle who was still throwing a tantrum about Fiona, while Katherine tried to get past the noise to get some sleep. Finding the thought useless as the current time, the King of the dorm turned in her bed to face Danielle who was sitting on her bed, and strangling her pillow.

"Careful, I don't want to take another trip to the bedding store for you," she said sarcastically. "You really get hung over on this kind of stuff when it comes to Fiona when you should realize that there is literally nothing you can do about it," she tried to explain as Danielle simply turned in her position with a pouty expression. "Short of completing rearranging the match ups if we win the Battle Royal tomorrow, there's no way of making it so Arisu and you can become partners again."

"It's not just that," Danielle said as she buried half of her face in her pillow. "It's that some of those people agree with me, and aren'tr trying to do anything about it. It's like Fiona has them all wrapped her finger."

"Maybe you just need some kind of vent," Katherine said as she walked towards her and held out her arms. "I'm gonna regret this later, but imagine I'm Fiona. What would you do to me? Please dial it down a few notches before hand."

Danielle simply stared at Katherine, and walked up to her before making a quick punch to her gut. As the King fell to the ground, Danielle sat on top of her, and proceeded to put her in a choke hold before pinning her down underneath her body. As the two continued to wrestle on the ground, they were able to produce enough noise not to hear the other members of their team walking into the doorway. As Hibiki poked his head into the door, he saw the positions of the two girls, and held onto his nose before running off, leaving the three unknown members standing in the doorway.

* * *

The first, a boy about the same age as Sacha, standing at five foot nine, with a regular build, but strong in the arms. His hair was a light brown color left cut short, and otherwise, left alone in terms of style as it had no apparent one direction it travelled in. With brown and green mixed eyes that gave off both a observant and calm look, one couldn't help but draw their eyes to the small vertical scar on his left temple. In addition to his uniform, attached to his belt was a two and half foot long rod giving the impression of some kind of swordfighting, a golden color feather hung around his neck by a piece of twine, and a black band around his right forearm with his chess piece clipped to the main wrap, the Knight.

The second, another boy, but older and taller by a couple of inches, with a faster, leaner, or runner's build with much of the power kept in his legs. With maroon colored hair that cascaded down his neck, ending in large spikes, and just above his bright green eyes. As for his eyes, they seemed both alert and tired as they were left half open, but also following every movement that the two girls made. Much like the Knight standing next to him, the boy also had a scar, but next to his right eye rather than the left. Aside from his uniform, the boy also wore a blue watch on his left wrist, and a necklace with a small water droplet charm, easily defined as a Mystic Water item. Behind the Mystic Water charm itself, his chess piece dangled from clip, the Bishop.

The final member of the team, presumably the Pawn, was a young girl standing at around five foot ten with a regular build for a girl her age. Her hair was a blond color that reached to the base of her neck before fanning out to the sides, and then reaching half way between her forehead and sky blue eyes. Like other members of the different chess teams introduced, the bridge of her nose was lined with freckles along with her cheeks that seemed to help to accent her pale skin tone. Along with her uniform, the girl wore an aviator's cap that, on the end strap had her chess piece dangling from the end, as expected the Pawn.

* * *

As Danielle continued to wrestle against her King, and while both were still unaware of their spectators, the Knight shifted his position over to one side, and then made a rectangle with both of his index fingers and thumbs watching each one individually. As he removed the fake camera he shifted his position back to the original position, and made a few nods with a smile on his face.

"You know, if we could get them to do that in a mud pit," he started as the two royalty pieces immediately stopped. "We could make a fortune like that," he said snapping his fingers.

"George..." Danielle said ominously as the Knight instantly dropped his happy expression, and began to back away from the door. "Better. Who's next?" she asked pointing at the two remaining members. "Amelia?" she asked as the girl shook her head furiously. "All right, it's me and you, Geo," she said challenging as the boy gave a quick bow before walking into the room.

As Danielle ran towards him with her hands outstretched, the boy, Geo simply moved out of the way with one sweeping motion, removing his jacket directly afterwords, revealing a large pearl shaped tattoo on his left forearm. He kept the same look on his face as he jumped over Danielle with a slight flip in his dodge. As he landed on his feet, Geo looked behind to see Danielle already grasping him from behind, keeping his arms locked behind him.

"Forgive me," he said as he began to flip Danielle over his back.

Twisting Danielle's arms in the same motion as when he flipped her, Geo forced the Queen to release him resulting in Danielle to try for another attack only to be met by Geo's stationary foot, seemingly as a way to ward her off. As the Queen backed off onto her bed, the Knight, George, slowly walked back into the room.

"Sorry, I just had to vent my anger for a while," Danielle admitted. "I just don't see what's so great about Fiona, and why the rules are set this way."

"Because if everybody got what they wanted there would be seventy two pawns, fifty five bishops, forty seven knights, should I go on?" Amelia asked. "I know what it feels like, all of my friends are in different dorms, too, and sometimes I wonder if they're all right, along with the thought of what could happen if we were all together."

"It's not just that Arisu, Lina, and I aren't together anymore, but also that Fiona keeps rubbing my nose in it," Danielle explained. "She likes to see people get hurt, it's some kind of turn-on for her."

"Part of the problem is that you're showing that it bothers you," George explained, determining it safe to speak. "It's a classic bully maneuver; they find what obviously ticks somebody off, and then they feed on that like a tapeworm host does on a buffet. The only thing that can keep them from doing this is to show that it doesn't bother you anymore. They'll stop finding some kind of pleasure in exploiting that pet peeve, and leave you alone."

"It's not that easy," Danielle said as she sighed depressively. "Besides, Arisu just called and said that if we were planning to do a Queen switch, it would probably not only be bad for the school, but some other reason that she couldn't disclose."

As the rest of the team was left in silence, a large flash and explosion rang out from the hall, resulting in two figures fly through the entirety of the corridor. As the five members looked down the hall, they saw Hibiki and his Gliscor lying on the ground towards the end of the hall, and then at the other end, they could see a Lampent floating towards them with Sacha following after him.

"Sacha?" Katherine questioned as Geo walked up to him.

"Hey, Sacha, did you need something from me for the legend research paper?" he asked as Sacha shook his head, and walked into the room with both royalty pieces.

"I need private talk with royalty," Sacha said.

"Anything you wanna say to us, you can say to them," Katherine said. "Well, maybe not Hibiki right now."

"Horosho," Sacha said as he signaled for the others to come into the room with him, while Geo was left dragging Hibiki's near lifeless body into the room.

* * *

The next morning came all too quickly, and the school's student population had all gathered in the large auditorium where a large PokéBall design was painted onto the floor. Around the circular design, six different marks had been made to mark where the different teams would be starting from. Starting from the top of the PokéBall's red half the teams were placed in the order SuperNova, SunLight, GalaxyStorm, CraterStrike, MoonBeam, and PlanetFoundation.

"WELCOME STUDENTS TO THE NIX ACADEMY BATTLE ROYAL!" a voice on the loudspeaker declared as all the student cheered. In the observation deck all twenty four other members of the dorm teams had gathered to watch the match. "NOW, BEFORE WE GET THIS COMPETITION UNDERWAY, WE MUST HEAR THE FINAL CONDITIONS OF WHAT WILL OCCUR IN THE EVENT OF ANY OF THESE PEOPLE WINNING. BEGINNING WITH SUPERNOVA DORM!"

As Christian took the microphone from a referee, he took a deep breath, and looked out at all the spectators. "If SuperNova Dorm wins, we are calling for a complete reassignment of the Royalty pieces," he declared as the rest of the student body gasped with several even fainting. "This is of my own decision and the rest of my dorm had no say in the matter. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes," he said as both he and Anya threw their PokéBalls into the air releasing their Pokémon, Metagross and Grumpig, respectively.

Passing off the microphone to Flarita from SunLight, Christian could only look at all the spiteful looks he was receiving. "If SunLight Dorm wins," Flarita started. "We are calling for the King or Queen of MoonBeam to go on a date with our Pawn, Mike Connors," she declared as many of the students began to applaude her decision while the MoonBeam members tried to stifle their laughter, and a large thud being heard from the observation room from Mike hitting his head against the wall. Both she and Lina threw their PokéBalls releasing their Pokémon, Charizard and Meganium, respectively.

With the passing off to GalaxyStorm, Tyson took a deep breath before speaking. "If GalaxyStorm is to win, we call that every Queen, aside from our own, in this competition be removed from the competition for a total of two weeks, after which they will forfeit their ability as the Queen for a total of another two weeks," he declared as the audience slowly applauded his decision. Both his and Helen's PokéBalls were thrown, their Pokémon flew upward before revealing themselves as Dragonite and Flygon.

As the mic was passed to CraterStrike, Jared shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. "If CraterStrike wins, we move that the next two weeks of school be called off for all students," he said as the stand went crazy with his decision. He look at Jackie who gave a thumbs up with both of them throwing their PokéBalls releasing their, respectively, Tyranitar and Mawile.

The mic was passed off to Arisu who gave Jared an approving nod with a smile. "If MoonBeam wins, much like our rivals in SunLight, we are calling that on Halloween night, Katherine Hughes of PlanetFoundation must accompany Sacha Tatarinov to a party as a date," she said as the other students all made a wolf whistling sound with Katherine's face became overcome with blush, and Sacha began to copy Mike in pounding his head on the wall. Both threw their PokéBalls, releasing their Pokémon, already known by the rest of the school, Eelektross and Froslass.

As a final pass was made, Katherine had tucked her blush away, and made a loud gulp looking at Danielle, who had become much less estatic about this battle. "If PlanetFoundation wins," she started as both of their Pokémon were released from their PokéBalls as Slowbro from Katherine and Lapras for Danielle. "We are calling for the exchange of Danielle Quinn and Fiona Hendricks," she said as the students fell silent, and began to applaude before she began to speak up. "Along with the exchange of Geo Raiden and Sacha Tatarinov," she finished as every eye moved to the observation room to stare at Sacha.

* * *

**Dorm points have been reset as per the rules of the Battle Royal.**

* * *

Chapter six complete. Can you say plot-twist in five languages, because I can't. But it work nonetheless. So next chapter will mostly be explanations of the royalty characters from all dorms, and then of course, the BATTLE ROYAL! Hope you enjoyed this one.

* * *

Credits:

(MoonBeam)

Arisu Senjougahara & Eelektross, Fiona Hendricks & Froslass, Donato Jacaruso & Scrafty, Devon Anderson & Absol, Sacha Tatarinov & Lampent, Akemi Tomomiya & Rotom: NightFall00

(SuperNova)

Christian Picklesimer & Metagross: pokemonmaster111

Anya Riveras & Grumpig: Amerath's Destiny

Tier Trivera & Glaceon: Miss Tigger

Parthos Gurrerier (Pokémon TBA): Phil the Persona Guy

Taisuke Yana (Pokémon TBA): Cyanide the Sneasel

Rokuro Endo (Pokémon TBA): ThePokémonNerdOriginal

(CraterStrike)

Jared Frederick & Tyranitar: Lazyboredom

Jacqueline "Jackie" Reynolds & Mawile: Mirage Mystery

Chris (Last name TBA) & Archeops: Detonator Liberation

Olivia Hale (Pokémon TBA): Gentle Blossom

Candice "Candi" Laria Isra (Pokémon TBA): Lolli-S

Adrian Kingrey (Pokémon TBA): Atmosbreak

(GalaxyStorm)

Tyson Arashi & Dragonite: Inhuman X

Helen Sklyon & Flygon: thesecretkeeper11

Zero Silvers & Gabite: GhostHuntingLuxray456

Marlen Sasaki & Togekiss: FlyPandaBear

Serena Robinson (Pokémon TBA): HazelFireSky

Mike "Ike" Valenite & Vigoroth: comicfan616

(SunLight)

Flarita Taiyo & Charizard: Leodasdragon

Lina Hikari & Meganium: The Purple Rose of Desire

Austin Withers & Magmortar: The Helpless Romantic

Melissa Bryant (Pokémon TBA): Sparky Pokémon

Glenn Tabirs (Pokémon TBA): PantherX14

Mike Connors (Pokémon TBA): whoneedspennamewhenigotthis

(PlanetFoundation)

Katherine Hughes & Slowbro: kitsunelover300

Danielle Quinn & Lapras: Acereader55

Hibiki Morikushi & Gliscor: A.I. G-Man

George DeSan (Pokémon TBA): GoldenFeatherKyru

Geo Raiden (Pokémon TBA): SparkLuxLucios

Amelia Blitz (Pokémon TBA): thesweetshipper


	8. Battle Royal, Part 2

Hey guys, and welcome to the second part of Battle Royal which is something you guys are probably really hankering for. Truth be told, I like this idea of updating on saturdays, makes this thing feel more like I'm a manga-ka (manga artist) on a deadline, granted I don't have to draw. This chapter is going to be mostly about the explanation behind the choices that the different royalties have made, and the of course, a giant six way tag-team battle. When I told my little brother about this, he asked why the Pokémon games can't do something like. I told them that it's because they're not as crazy as me. Enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOW OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Battle Royal, Part 2

Has anything ever been requested, ordered, or suggested to you without somebody giving you a reason? It's human nature to want to control somebody else, and think that at the same time, they want to be controlled by them. But really, while people like to control their surroundings, they hate to be controlled, and yearn for the freedom that people in power have. But even if people want to control as opposed to being controlled, the fact remains that there is always somebody with more than them, and the only consolating to being controlled is a reason, or an explanation of why. Nothing happens because it just does, and everything that does happen is for a very specific reason. At Nix Academy, the Battle Royal is a giant six way tag-team battle royale, and the winning team decides on one order issued to at least one of the chess team's royalties. But, despite what one may think, the orders are more based on the behalf of other people, and are very rarely selfish.

* * *

The silence in the audience had broken into a small murmur at the sound of PlanetFoundation dorm's order of exchanging both the Queen and Bishop positions. All of the eyes in the auditorium were fixed on either the two team royalties that would be affected, or the observation deck with the other twenty four members of the chess team where they knew Sacha was. Down on the floor, Danielle was left with her eyes facing her shoes as though ashamed of her order, and the implicationson that it could have her friend's team. As she looked at the crimson haired King from MoonBeam, she looked nervous at her next reaction, but suddenly heard a slight chuckle from her. As the other royalty pieces turned to Arisu, they suddenly noticed that she failing to hold back her laughter at how serious everybody was acting as a result of the order.

"Why so glum, chum?" she asked Danielle who widened her eyes out of surprise. "You really think that Sacha making you do this would come as a surprise to me?" she asked as the other members of the chess teams in the observation platform looked at the Bishop.

"You knew he would do this?" Katherine asked.

"Sacha's not a person with a lot of feeling in him," Fiona explained. "He does things that are logical to him. To him, dying based on choice is no longer a logical choice, but the fact remains that any prolonged absence of a control would slowly turn the thought into a more logical reality. In order to protect his current rational choices, he has to stay close to his control; namely me."

"So what? Did he come by, and make you do this?" Arisu asked as Danielle and Katherine looked at each other.

"More like he begged us," Katherine answered with the response surprising Arisu, and making Fiona's heart flutter slightly. "He came to the dorm last night, and talked to us. He said that he had to stay with Fiona, and that if we were planning to do a piece exchange, we would have to do it with him as well."

"How did your Bishop take it?" Arisu asked. "I know he and Sacha are on good terms, but how would he feel being replaced by a MoonBeam?"

"Geo's a lot like Sacha in this case," Katherine explained. "He used the logic that as long as MoonBeam didn't win another competition that would be enough for him."

"By destroying us from within, am I right?" Arisu asked towards the observation deck. "Not that Danielle would let that happen anyway, but it would be a good plan to make it so we don't continue our record, huh?"

"If we're all done now," a voice from the side, leading to the small Queen of SuperNova, Anya. "Let's get this started so I can beat Christian down to a..." she started before Christian put his hand over her mouth.

"If you finish that sentence, I'll throw you out of the dorm...literally," the King said. "The sad part...I can actually do that. But she is right, that the girl-talk is over, and now we need to begin. Professor Doyer, if you would please," he said bowing to an elderly man walking towards the battlefield.

* * *

The man was, for all intents and purposes, ancient. His body was old, weak, frail, and definitely worth every cent if it were donated to an arthiritis association. Standing at five foot one with a bald head, the man's only amount of accumulated hair were his white sideburns, eyebrows that hid his eyes from view, and a long beard and moustahce that nearly trailed to the floor with his hunched posture. He wore very traditional clothing as opposed to what many of teachers wore, consisting of mostly, and instead wore a long robe made of silk that kept his arms out of the line of vision as they were folded, and a pair of large pants that expanded outward towards the bottom.

* * *

As the man, introduced as Professor Doyer, walked to the center of the battlefield, he looked at all the teams, and then finally at the SuperNova King with a small grumble in his voice before speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said flipping his arms upward. "Welcome to the annual Battle Royal, where I, Professor Clint Doyer, will be residing as official referee, and enforcer of all orders issued by the winner. Before we begin, there is one thing I must say to one of the competitors," he said as he walked towards the SuperNova corner. "To my dear boy, Christian," he started as he suddenly made a flicking mostion with his wrist, and with a certian gleam in his eyes, whacked the King with a long ruler. "You're a no good hippie!" he shouted at Christian as he held his head in pain, and the old teacher walked away from him as though nothing had happened, quickly pushing the meter stick back into his sleeve.

"Nice guy," Tyson said looking at Christian still kneeling down holding his head, and noticing a small bump slowly appearing. "You know that somebody really appreciates you when they become a samurai with a ruler."

"Try not to hold it against him," Christian said standing up. "Doyer's an old fashioned guy, and hates me for not wanting this position. He thinks that I'm a pacifist, and that if I am to remain as King, it won't mean a heck of a lot of good things for my team."

"Is that the reason behind your order?" Taiyo asked as she leaned over to face the SuperNova King. "You have to admit, calling for a complete rewrite of the royalty pieces seems a little extreme."

"Actually, Doyer's opinion of me has nothing to do with my decision," Christian answered. "But that's all I'm willing to say."

"We'll be sure to loosen that tongue of yours," Arisu said from afar. "I have ways of making people talk. Right, Eelektross?" she asked as she stroked the body of her massive Pokémon.

"I'd like to see you try," Christian said challengingly as the professor in charge of SuperNova, Clint Doyer, reached the center of the battle field, and raised both of his arms to the sky.

"If all battlers are ready," he began as the twelve trainer's and Pokémon nodded once at the same time. "Then as head referee for the Battle Royal of Nix Academy, I declared this battle STARTED!"

* * *

At the sound of the order, all twelve Pokémon suddenly jumped into the center ring, and met all circled around the center, after the aged professor had safely stepped away. It seemed as though all twelve Pokémon, and their trainers had the same idea at the current moment; wait for somebody else to go first...or defeat them with boredom. Despite the lack of action in the battle, the tension quickly filled the stands to a choking level. All twelve royalty pieces stayed completely silent as all of their respective Pokémon sized off their opponents, and as the Tyranitar from CraterStrike's Jared took one step back, the others all turned to face him. The large rock type turned its head slightly back to look at its trainer, whose eyes were now completely focused on the other Pokémon, only moving his head slightly to give a quick nod to his Pokémon.

"Mawile," Jackie started as the small steel type among the group gave a quick chuckle. "Plan A for team dispersement," she said as the Pokémon folded its arms over its body alerting the other Pokémon.

"Tyranitar, Earthquake!" Jared called out as Mawile suddenly covered itself in a small protective sphere, and Tyranitar made a quick jump upwards.

As the Pokémon came crashing down, the shockwaves travelled through the stadium at an alarming amount of power shaking the entire auditorium. As all of the royalty pieces, and their Pokémon saw the amount of power in the one Pokémon facing them. With several chunks of the cement used as a foundation of the stadium being upheaved by the attack, many of the Pokémon began to scramble in several directions unsure of what was going to happen. At the two opposite ends of the stadium, however, Arisu and Christian stayed very calm, and even allowed their eyes to be hidden from view.

After much of the dirt, and dust had disappeared into the air, Jared and Jackie were suprised to fine much of the Pokémon unharmed. With obvious Pokémon like Dragonite, Flygon, Charizard, and Eelektross being unaffected by the ground elemented attack, two other Pokémon, aside from Mawile, were left without injury from the attack, both from the SuperNova dorm, Metagross and Grumpig, leaving Slowbrow, Lapras, Maganium, and Froslass the only ones sustaining any kind of damage. As the school's population looked at the steel and psychic Pokémon, they try to find why it had remained unharmed when they noticed that it made a small drop from a near unnoticeable gap between its feet and the ground. As Grumpig climbed down from the massive Pokémon, the other royalty pieces looked at Christian who kept his hand in a raised position with his head still lowered.

* * *

"He controls his Pokémon through shadow ordering," Donato said from the observation area, trying to come up with some kind of an explanation for the silent command. "He makes a movement with his hand, Metagross is able to discern the different movements, and then translate them into specific moves. In that particular case, he used Magnet Rise to keep both himself and his partner from being susceptible to the attack from Tyranitar."

"If that's the case, then it'll be about as hard as battling against people like Sacha, Arisu, or anybody else whose battle command are done in a system that can't be dechipered by simple observation," Geo said from the other side of the observation deck. "When people are able to condition a Pokémon into certain commands as a result of different languages, hand signals, or even random sounds, the possibilities for their actions are infinite, and chances are, those people who aren't able to decipher them fast enough are the ones that aren't going to last very long."

"It's obvious that Christian is definitely hiding more than his reasons for such an outlandish order," Zero said from farther in the back. "I've checked out his records," he said as the other chess members turned to face him. "He's never lost an official battle in his life. But through it all, he's never received any kind of award, honor, or even just a mention of his record."

"Obviously Christian is afraid of attention, or something like that," Devon said as a stifled laughter was heard on the far end from the SuperNova Bishop, Taisuke.

"I think what's obvious is that you people are barking up the wrong tree with that one," she explained while shaking her head. "Christian may have refused all of those honors for being who he is, but that's the reason why he didn't accept them."

"I don't follow," Akemi said as Sacha placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Person is person," Sacha tried to explained. "Person no need award for being himself."

"Exactly," Parthos, the SuperNova Knight, agreed. "Christian's a very realistic person. He understands how the world works, and that people get honored for doing stuff that may seem extraordinary to others, but at the same time, he sees no point in being awarded for something he does on a normal basis. Heck, the guy once saved a kid from a burning building, and never showed up to the award ceremony."

"To him, people who accept awards for doing what they're supposed to are very selfish in that sense," Rokuro noted, not letting his eyes wander form the battle that had seemingly froze in amazement as Christian slowly lowered his hand. "People who do things only for the glory of it are the kind of people who think that what they do itself has no extra value."

"Maybe so, but your King and Queen aren't exactly a harmonious team, are they?" Melissa, the Knight from SunLight, asked as she noticed the diminuitive queen began to pound her fists against Christian's chest. "What's her deal?"

"She's an eighteen year old with the body of a grade schooler," Austin said directly next to her. "You try and figure out what that's like. Always being seen as weak because of something you can't control. People only noticing what you do wrong as opposed to what you do right. Anya may not like the fact that her size keeps her from doing so much, and being saved by Christian from the Earthquake attack makes her feel powerless all the more."

"SuperNova has never been a dorm that's been in perfect synch, but by far, this year it has the best chance of beating MoonBeam," Glenn noted as Tyson's Dragonite made a quick dash to Metagross.

* * *

Back on the battlefield, time had seemed to resume as Tyson's Dragonite prepared for its assault on the steel and psychic type while Christian was still trying to keep Anya at bay. Pushing her back with one arm so that she could reach him, even while she continually rotated her fists at him, Christian noticed Dragonite's attempted attack, and widened his eyes before thrust his hand outward with his fingers curled inward like claws. Seconds before Dragonite got close enough to attack Metagross with what appeared to be an electric attack stemming from its attenae, Metagross extended its arm quikcly, striking the dragon type in its stomach with a definite trail left from the path of its punch.

"Bullet Punch," Christian explained. "No matter how fast you are, Metagross can be faster."

"Sorry, Christian, but this ends for you," Tyson declared as he shifted his eyes towards Helen. "Now!"

"Flygon, take him out!" Helen shouted as the ground and dragon mix flew out from above, and began to charge directly downward at Metagross.

"Grumpig, let's help out the hippie," Anya ordered as her Pokémon jumped in the way, but was instantly attacked from the side by Dragonite. "No! Christian you've turned this against us in every way!"

"Have I?" he asked with his voice becoming more hoarse as he crossed his arms in front of him with the sound of the air moving barely audible.

Metagross looked up at Flygon, and held out both of its front arms towards the attacking Pokémon, almost unaware of Dragonite still directly beside it with another electric attack being prepared. Christian chuckled slightly without looking at the other dragon type, and simply shifted his head to the side prompting Metagross to point its second arm towards the dragon and flying mix. Christian snapped his fingers, and at the sound three things happened all at once; Dragonite released a Thunder attack, Flygon became cloaked in a raging aura with mixed colors of red and blue, and Metagross' eyes becoming a light blue color with its body being surrounded by the same colored light.

As the blue light extended outward, Dragonite's Thunder attack was suddenly halted, along with Flygon with its body still covered in the strange power. Christian gave a smug grin, and moved his hands towards both Dragonite, and towards the Slowbro owned by the King of PlanetFoundation, still reeling from the attack against it from Tyranitar. With a flick of the wrist from Christian, Metagross sent the Thunder attack towards Slowbro, and Flygon hurdling towards Dragonite. Noticing the danger, Dragonite instantly moved, but was quickly pinned down by Grumpig also with the same blue membrane surrounding it.

"Outrage from Flygon, and Thunder from Dragonite," Arisu named off. "Using Psychic to control the path of both of these attacks so they A, hit Flygon's partner who is weak to dragon, and B, use Dragonite's attack to strike Kathy's Slowbro. No wonder he's never lost."

"But we can change that, right?" Fiona asked as the two began to chuckle. "Froslass, do your thing," she said as the ghost and ice type floated towards the main battle occuring between mainly SuperNova and GalaxyStorm.

On its way, Froslass began to prepare a Shadow Ball attack when suddenly it was met by a large figure that suddenly shot a blast of water towards it, making it fly back towards Fiona. As the Queen looked up, she saw the large figure of the Pokémon as that of a Lapras, already knowing who had silently challenged her. As she looked to the side of her, Fiona could see Danielle looking at her with a challenging look in her eyes. Fiona smiled slightly, and gave a quick chuckle, and nodded.

"I have something to take care of," Fiona said to Arisu as the latter gave a smile. "Can I ask you to take care of SuperNova for me?" she asked.

"I guess if I have to," Arisu said as Eelektross began to speed towards the opposite of the stadium. "Eelektross," she began as the Pokémon turned to face her. "Have fun," she said as the expression on the eel Pokémon became much more confident.

As the pure electric type travelled across the field, it was suddenly cut off by both sets of Pokémon from CraterStrike and Sulight, consisting of Charizard, Meganium, Tyranitar, and Mawile. Eelektross backed up only slightly, but then felt something in its head that made it lower its head before staring at the four opponents with little fear in its expression.

* * *

"So, just me and you, huh, Danielle?" Fiona asked as Froslass faced Lapras with both having the same look in their eyes. "Let's see if you have what it takes to take my place aside your precious Arisu," she said hugging Arisu from behind tightly making Danielle turn red in anger.

"Lapras, do what you have to, just defeat Fiona!" Danielle ordered as the ice and wter Pokémon opened its mouth, with an Ice Beam attacked beginning to form. "Engage!" she shouted as the Ice Beam was aimed at the ground, and the path to Froslass bcame completely frozen, making it all the easier for Lapras to slide across to battle Froslass directly.

With Lapras in hot pursuit of Froslass, the water and ice type opened its mouth again, and released a large blast of concentrated and pressurized water towards the ice and ghost mix. With the entirety of the water coming down on Froslass, and the Pokémon being blasted back nearly ten feet before it looked back at its assailant with its eye even more confident than before. Releasing Arisu from her grip, Fiona's attention became completely engrossed by Danielle's anger, and her power exerted against her to the point that Fiona began to shudder with pleasure.

"Froslass, why don't we show that little girl some love?" she suggested as Froslass showed a bit more excitement in its eyes. "Confuse Ray," she said nonchalantly with Froslass' eyes glowing a harsh yellow color before releasing a small orb of the same color.

Even as Lapras attempted to run from the orb on its icy path, the attack continued to follow after it, and after at least twenty seconds of the chase, the orb overcame Lapras with its eyes becoming dilated. Looking back and forth, Lapras looked at the ice below it to see its own reflection, prompting it to attack the first thing it saw. Releasing another balst of water, presumably a Hydro Pump, Lapras could only watch helplessly as each attack it attempted to use on its relfection recoiled off of the ice, and then back at it causing more and more damage as time went by.

Danielle, as well, watched her Pokémon unable to do anything, and then at Fiona who folded her arms across her chest while continuing in her pleasured shuddering. She then looked up at Danielle with her own eyes dilated, and a small amount of drool appearing in the corner of her mouth. Danielle, Arisu, and Katherine all noticed this, and widened their eyes out of amazement seeing her supposed love of pain come into the daylight.

"And this is why I never trusted you alone with Sacha," Arisu said as she tried to snap her out of her trance. "I knew this would become a bad habit one of these days."

"So it's true, isn't it?" Katherine asked. "Fiona really does delight in seeing people suffer."

"Yes," Arisu said with a sigh. "The problem with it is that she's powerless to stop it from coming. She's tried multiple times to keep this from happening because if Sacha, but every time it's been a dismal failure."

"That's _my_ question," Lina said from the other side. "Why does she like Sacha so much, and in what way does she like him?"

"I've never been able to figure that out," Arisu admitted. "For some reason, any kind of guy that intially rejects her advances is what really turns her on, but Sacha was fairly indifferent about all of it. Also, Sacha isn't what Fiona normally looks for in a guy, whether he be willing ir unrilling to converse with her."

"Sacha was always different," Fiona said as she continued to shudder. "He didn't turn me away, but he always made it clear that he wanted to be left alone. He didn't mind everything I did, but he still didn't like it. He let me do what I want because he knew it made me happy. Somebody like that isn't somebody normal, nor is he the exact opposite of what you want."

"Are you in love with Sacha, or something?" Katherine asked.

"I don't know," Fiona admitted. "I always knew about his gender, even when he came here, and that made me think that there was a special connection between us, but as for romantic feelings, I don't think I've ever felt that for a guy. Right now, Sacha's like my brother. A person I can tease, and they won't be bothered by it. That's why I decided on this order to have you go on a date with him."

"_You_ decided that?" Danielle asked. "Why?"

"What sister doesn't want her little brother to be happy?" she asked as she gave a genuine smile at Danielle. "At the same time, what brother wouldn't want to be with his sister every chance he gets. He knows what I'll do to him when he and Arisu areplaying chess, and yet he still comes. I know he has no feelings for anybody, but I know that he's no empty shell. He likes me as a sister, and isn't sure of how to show it."

"So the suicidal thing?" Katherine asked.

"It's in there, but I think that he uses it as an excuse," Fiona said. "I think he just wants to stay with me until he's ready to move on in his life."

"That truly is a touching story," Christian said from afar with Metagross already close to the two Queens' Pokémon, and leaving both GalaxyStorm members trying to convince their Pokémon to stand up as neither had actually been defeated. "But it's time to end this," he said holding up his index and middle finger together, and making a slashing motion which instantly clicked in for Metagross.

Metagross suddenly made a slashing motion with one if its arms with its claws shining in a metallic shine. With both ice types struck by the attack, Froslass floated off in all different directions, and Lapras, still confused, slid off of its path, and could only perceive Metagross already making a move towards it. Lapras just sat there, dazed and helpless, as the large steel type walked towards it, and suddenly made a quick dash, floating through the air to attack Lapras. Just before attacking, Metagross was blasted from the side by a powerful electric attack that seemed to come from more than one Pokémon. Danielle traced back the attack to trail to see both Dragonite's attanae and Eelektross' body still charged with electricity.

"You don't attack my friend while I'm around," Arisu declared.

"Besides, we're not done here," Tyson said despite the fact that his Dragonite was low on energy.

To his side Helen was more focused on her battle with Anya in which much of it was a simple exchange of moves with neither having a clear advantage over the other. Back in the center of the field with the pair of SunLight and CraterStrike royatly pieces, the two were still amazed at the power exerted by both electric attacks, and the fact that Eelektross was still in between all four of them. Danielle looked at all the Pokémon around, and then towards Fiona who had sat down with her legs crossed, and noticed her Pokémon's head in her lap.

"We'll win the next battle, Froslass," she said. "Don't let it get you down."

"Froslass has been removed from the battle, MoonBeam is left with one member!" Professor Doyle announced as the audience was in awe of Christian's power, but began to notice some kind of anger boiling in Danielle.

"You ruined my revenge on her..." Danielle said ominously as Lapras broke out of its confusion and could see Metagross still reeling from its sudden assault from the two Kings' Pokémon. "That was supposed to be my win, and you took that away from me. Kathy," she started as the King of her dorm nodded. "I guess we have a new target. Lapras..."

"Slowbrow..." both started. "Engage!"

As both water types ran towards Metagross, they didn't notice Christian's sudden movement of his hand prompting Metagross for another attack, and were taken completely by surprise by the sudden strike by Metagross in its injured state. Even though the attack missed Slowbro by a fraciton of an inch, the resulting back swing struck Lapras with another Metal Claw attack in addition to its original. Lapras slid across the stadium again, and was able to slow down slightly. Before it could get its positioning right, it was struck by another wide swing from Metagross, but with the entire arm, sending it flying across the stadium, and into the wall behind it.

"Lapras!" Danielle shouted out of concern as she ran towards her Pokémon, only to find it defeated. "I'm sorry we couldn't complete our goal today. We'll just have to try again," she said returning the ice and water type to her PokéBall with tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "Arisu," she started as the crimson haired King looked at her expectantly. "If either you or Kathy lose to that guy, I'll never forgive you."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Arisu said.

"One more thing," Danielle said before standing up, and leaving the staidum. "I'll still get back at you for everything, Fiona."

"But of course, school would be so boring if you didn't," the MoonBeam Queen stated as she returned Froslass, and followed after her.

* * *

"So now the real battle can begin, huh?" Geo said from the observation deck while the others simply looked at him puzzled. "Danielle's only goal in this battle was to defeat Fiona, and now that Christian has proved himself the true master of this battle, there was little more she could do. But now that that individual fued is out of the way. The other royalty will soon show their true colors as to why they chose what they did."

"He's right," Adrian, the Pawn of CraterStrike, agreed. "Some of these orders just seem to random to have happened without a reason. Only two of them make any sense, and those are the ones that were issued by GalaxyStorm and SuperNova, and that's because the two Kings are well-known in terms of their personality."

"How do you know that?" Serena asked from aside.

"GalaxyStorm is led by Tyson Arashi, a strategist by nature, but with any strategy there is one thing you can never account for, and that's your enemy," Adrian explained. "By removing the six strongest players aside from the Kings themselves, he can ensure that more than seventy percent of his plan can be kept."

"Where'd you get that figure?" Ike asked.

"I made it up," Adrian admitted as the other pieces in the observation area fell over. "The fact remains that without the stronger pieces causing them grief, Tyson can ensure that most of his plan can go off without a hitch. As for Christian, his goal is obvious, get out of this competition as fast as possible."

"That guy is just one mystery after another, though," Serena said watching Christian's movments. "He controls his Pokémon like a shadow boxer, he hates his position, and he doesn't see a point in the awards presented to him. Not only that, but he's able to rationalize the idea of completely rewriting the royalty pieces for all six dorms to get out of his own responsibility."

"Maybe so," Taisuke started as she leaned over the edge of the railing. "But Christian has one rationalization that nobody else has ever had in SuperNova. If you fail in one thing you have to do another," she explained as the others looked at her confused. "That means that Christian has a mind set that if he is to fail in one thing, he must complete another to make up for it. He makes promises to us, and he always comes through with them, that's what makes him so much stronger than the others."

"So what did he promise you guys?" Chris asked as he watched Metagross swinging its arms, while still using the same Meteor Mash attack it did on Danielle's Lapras.

"He promised to destroy Triple-S," Parthos answered as all the other chess pieces widened their eyes in surprise. "This is Christian's first year as a chess piece, and with it, he's become very task oriented. He believes, however, that with Triple-S still around, and us under his care, he has the responsibility to destroy the organization even if he has to do it himself."

"So, let me get this straight," Akemi said trying to figure out the process. "He's a guy who does his job, hates it, wants to get out of it, but makes promises that he will do it, and you're all okay with that?" she asked as the four other members of SuperNova gave a single nod. "And I thought our team had issues."

* * *

Back on the battlefield, Metagross began to take control of the battle, going around the circular design, and attacking the various Pokémon that was in its path. Christian perfect motionless only making small motions with hishead to determine the direction that Metagross was to travel in. As it's motion began to slow, Metagross was suddenly met by both Dragonite and Slowbro, and noticed that instead of the normal dunbfounded expression that Slowbro had, it's face was incredibly serious as it held it hand in a clenched fist.

"How interesting," Christian said with his eyes completely devoid of emotion. "A Slowbro that doesn't have the mental capacity of a chronic drunk," he taunted as the Slowbro thrusted its fist towards Metagross only for it to be caught, and the result ending in a toss across the field by the steel and psychic hybrid. "But still nothing compared to this Pokémon. You all are so boring," he said as the other royalty pieces including Anya looked at him. "You all issued orders as a way to have fun, or make this seem like a joke to some people while I actually have a reason behind mine, and am fairly realistic about my approach," he said as several of the royalty pieces clenched their fists.

"Why you," Jackie began before Jared held her back, and shook his head. "Jared, what do you think you're doing?"

"What's expected of me," he said as he pointed at Christian who noticed Jared's now completely serious expression. "Christian, I won't have you belittle this competition any longer. I do what I do for my own reasons, and you think you have more right to say that you're realistic in your approach? Let's have a one on one right here and now!"

"...Fine, why not?" Christian agreed motioning for Anya to battle with him. "We'll make this quick."

"...Fine," Anya said after hesitation with her voice full of disdain. "But you have to acknowledge that you're taking this too far."

"Am I?" Christian asked as Metagross and Grumpig took their place on the battlefield with Tyranitar and Mawile facing them. "Metagross, take them out," he said moving his thumb across his neck in a slashing motion.

Metagross was the first to move with another Meteor Mash attack towards Tyranitar who took the entirety of the hit. Christian looked at the attack satisfactorily, but then noticed that Tyranitar had sustained no noticeable damage, and had even managed to grip onto Metagross' limb. Looking at the rock Pokémon in surprise, Christian turned to Anya, and looked at her expectantly, only to find her turned away from him.

"If you're so good, you should be able to win this battle without my help," she said as Christian looked at her with a chuckle.

"You think that guilt is an emotion that can stop me?" he asked as Anya looked at him. "I've done more than you could ever imagine, and each time it's completely closed off my emotions, and now, I feel nothing for what I do, say, or think. Metagross, continue," he ordered as Metagross used its other arm to attack Tyranitar, only for it to be caught once more within the rock and dark hybrid's grip. "How is this possible? How is it you're able to withstand that kind of attack?"

"It's because I value my teammate," Jared said with a smile as the Mawile next to it began to feel more and more pain as though it was being attacked instead.

"Pain Split," Christian noticed as he could see a faint membrane around the exhausted steel type. "You're taking the damage off of Tyranitar by passing it onto your partner."

"It's a risky strategy, but I want to give people a time period without the pressures of school that they would normally have directly after the Battle Royal with all of these teachers telling their students to give a detailed description of what they thought was the reason for a team's win or loss," Jared explained. "This is something I want to do for me so that people can see that I'm as normal as them, and that I didn't have to be special to be in this position," he said calmly. "Tyranitar, show him what teamwork, is capable of."

Tyranitar let out a huge roar, throwing the steel type across the stadium, and as it landed, Tyranitar showed no mercy as it let out a huge earthquake again, affecting the steel type completely along with Meganium and Grumpig, but at the same time forcing Mawile into unconsciousness.

"My apologies, Jackie," Jared said as the Queen shook her head showing she found the action necessary. "Tyranitar, for our fallen comrade, end him," he said calmly again as Tyranitar began to run towards the already battered Pokémon with a much greater degree of speed.

"Metagross, Meteor Mash, now!" he shouted as Metagross weakly stood up, and charge Tyranitar at the same time as Tyranitar's attack collided with the former. "Bulldoze, huh? You were prepared for me, weren't you?" he asked while giving off a warm smile. "Was it _your_ goal to beat me?"

"No," Jared said as the collision knocked both Pokémon back. "Just to see if I could measure up," he finished as both Metagross and Tyranitar fell to the ground defeated by the other's attack.

"With that, the King of both SuperNova and CraterStrike have been defeated, along with the Queen of the latter," Doyle declared. "Anya Riveras, do you wish to continue?" he asked the small girl.

"...No," she said returning Grumpig. "I came into this competition to prove that I can battle like anybody, and if I were to battle and win, it would only prove that I can't because I would no longer be in the competition," she said as she walked by Christian, and giving him a quick punch to the gut. "That's only a fraction of what's happening to you when we get back to the dorm," she said as Christian cringed slightly.

* * *

"So we're down to four teams, and two of them only have one Pokémon apiece," Devon noted as the remaining teams resumed their previous battle. "How do you think this is gonna go down, Sacha?" he asked.

"MoonBeam and PlanetFoundation battle for win," he delcared as Donato tried to supress his laughter with his hand.

"You're kidding, right?" Donato asked. "MoonBeam I can understand, but PlanetFoundation? This is defintiely going to be between MoonBeam and GalaxyStorm, I'll even bet you twenty on that. There's not a heck of a lot that can beat a dragon, and neither Arisu nor Kathy have that Pokémon..." he tried to explain but was cut off by a loud shot fired on the battlefield resulting in both Lina's Meganium and Helen's Flygon defeated.

"What happened there?" Akemi asked.

"Arisu attacked Flygon with an Ice Beam, and Katherine used an Ice Punch on Meganium," Geo explained as he tried to map out the movements resulting in the other two Queens' defeat. "Now it's just the Kings, and this is shaping up to be a pretty decent battle. Charizard, Slowbro, Dragonite, and Eelektross."

"What are you saying, Geo?" Hibiki asked.

"Dragonite has the clear advantage without taking any specialized moves into play," Geo began to explain. "But when you do put them into the game, Dragonite has the lowest chance of coming out of this. Charizard has access to dragon moves, and the other two have ice. After that, Charizard as the next lowest chance seeing as one can use water, and the other can use electric against it," he explained as Donato looked at the battle nervously before rummaging through his wallet.

* * *

On the battlefield, all four trainers moved off to four different areas of the field, at euqal distances from the person on both sides of them. With their Pokémon all sizing each other off, it appeared to be just like the situation before where no moves had been made against any of them until Jared's original assault. This time, however, Dragonite was the first to move, becoming cloaked in the same kind of harsh red and blue aura that Flygon had when using its Outrage attack.

"Dragonite, forgive me for doing this to you," Tyson said as Dragonite gave a smile,a dn then charged into the center of the battlefield, fully aware of the consequences of using the specific move.

"Charizard, Dragon Claw, now!" Taiyo called out as Charizard charge towards Dragonite with its claws fully engulfed in a similar aura that Dragonite's body was in at the moment.

Dragonite faced off against Charizard, and made a spinning motion, making it appear as though the attack was more of a cyclone than a simple tackle based attack. As Charizard dodged the first attack made by Dragonite, it slashed downward, only for the Dragon Claw to completely be rendered useless by the circular motion that Dragonite was currently moving in. Dragonite then circled around, and struck Charizard in the back, and then continued to push it towards the edge of the battlefield.

"Why did you make such a ludicrous order to be made for something as big as this?" Tyson asked Taiyo as her Charizard proceeded to take much of the Outrage attack. "Why do so much for your Pawn?"

"Becuase no matter how weak he may be," Taiyo started. "He's still a part of our team, and because of that, we want him to always feel like he belongs, no matter how he acts. But as it stands, we all believe that by setting him up one of the more energetic member of the chess teams might help his social skills," she explained.

"Seems pretty strange to do something that has no effect on the actual game, but who am I to judge?" he asked.

"The question you should be asking, 'why am I so easily distracted,'" Taiyo said in retort as Tyson looked at her confused, but then noticed the Slowbro behind Dragonite.

"Slowbro, now!" Katherine shouted as Dragonite turned in its cyclone state to attack the water and psychic mix, but was met by an electric shock from Eelektross. "See how this is gonna go down, Tyson?" Katherine asked as Tyson looked at all three one by one, and allowing his eyes to close for several seconds, only for them to snap open in the next instant.

"Dragonite, when you succumb to the confusion, keep the cyclone form going, and don't stop no matter what you do!" he shouted as Dragonite's nodded while trapped inside aura, and his mind began to wander into the deeper recesses of his subconscious. "Now, Outrage!" he shouted as Dragonite poured more power into its current attack, only for it to proceed to become more of an explosion with parts of the aura shoot out in all directions on the battlefield.

"He's using the confused state of Dragonite to keep his power on the higher level, and to make it harder for the others to make a decent attack," Marlen explained. "It's the riskiest plan that one has tried to attempt, but it's fairly effective."

As the attack continued, the attacks continued, and seemed to lock onto Eelektross who was already struggling to dodge all of the blast. Arisu closed her eyes, and then held her hands together, threading her fingers in between the others, but at the same time failed to notice that her Pokémon had been blasted far past the battlefield, and struggled to get up after hitting the wall behind her.

"What!" Arisu shouted as she ran towards her Pokémon, whose body had already been indented into the wall. "Eelektross, are you alright?" she asked as the electric Pokémon failed to give an answer.

* * *

As the other continued their battle, the audience was stuck on Arisu and Eelektross, and wondered if it was truly possible for her to be defeated. Arisu fell to her knees, and made the same pose again with her hands folded, and eyes closed. Back in the observation deck, Akemi was about to ask what she was doing before Devon covered her mouth, and told her not to make a sound. The entire stadium fell quiet with the exception for the raging vortex from Dragonite that was just beginning to slow down.

"Please, Eelektross, my friends all think I'm invincible," she said. "I'm not asking you to work outside your limits, but I want to know, is it really me that's invicible, or is it you? You have no weakness, you have no equal, you are not just some stooge, _you_ are the King of our dorm. And if you truly believe that, stand up and fight for your kingdom," he said while holding the same pose.

As the other three Kings watched her in what seemed to be a prayer, the began quesitoning what was happening, or why Doyle had done nothing about any kind of calling. As Tyson walked up to the old man he whispered the inquiry in his ear, only for a meter stick to quickly apear in his hand, and for the result to be another strike from the old man. As Tyson stumbled in his footing as he walked back, the old professor watch Arisu intently, and then smiled when she saw her fall over unconscious.

"Arisu!" Katherine shouted, but was stopped Taiyo who stood in between her, and the MoonBeam King. "What are you doing? She needs help!"

"If anybody is in need of help," Taiyo began as she signaled Charizard. "It's us."

As if on cue, Arisu snapped upwards, and turned towards the other remaining royalty pieces and their Pokémon. Her hair was now blowing in the wind wildly depite the lack of any air movement in the room, and her smile was that of one who was confident enough to win it all. She snapped her fingers, and within a fraction of a second, Eelektross disappeared from its place where it had been launched, and ended up in the cneter of the battlefield.

"What in the world?" Tyson asked as Arisu stood back in her place with her arms folded over her chest, and with the same look in her eye despite the current disadvantage she had put herself in. "How is she doing this?" Tyson asked as he suddenly saw a small crackle of electricity out of the corner of his eye, and then his vision was overcome by seeing Dragonite fall from its place to the ground, and covered in electrical discharges.

"Charizard, evasive actions!" Taiyo called out as the fire and flying Pokémon began to fly in random directions around the room. "Katherine, now!" she shouted as Eelektross turned its gaze towards Slowbro who charged the electric type with its fist glowing a spectral white.

"Hmmph," Arisu said with a slight chuckle noticing Charizard making a downward attack towards Eelektross while releasing a Heat Wave attack, Slowbro prepared with a Mega Punch, and Dragonite now joining the battle with a Dragon Claw. "Checkmate..." she said ominously as a small discharge was expelled from Eelektross, and it seemed as though everything fell silent for maybe a second.

After the moment passed, the entire battlefield was covered in an enormous Discharge attack with all three Pokémon affected by it, and receiving no reaction by either Eelektross or Arisu. As all three Pokémon fell to the ground, the remaining Kings were left dumbfounded by the amount of power exerted in one single strike. As she walked away with Eelektross following after her, Arisu stopped for a second before falling over one more time from the overexertion of energy.

* * *

Several hours and passed before Arisu regained consciousness, and by the time she had, she had been moved from the auditorium to the infirmiry where, by the time she woke up, all of her teammates as well as Danielle and Lina were waiting for her to wake up. She smiled at them as they did the same, and fell back into the pillow before jolting straight upward, and noticing her current location. She looked on all sides of her, and then noticed Eelektross sleeping soundly, wrapped all around her bed.

"He hasn't left your side since you collapsed at the Battle Royal," Donato explained. "He's the one that brought you here, and made sure that only we were the ones to see you."

"The press?" Arisu asked as every nodded. "What happened to me? I remember trying to wake Eelektross up, and then nothing. It was almost as if I had left the room or something."

"That's not important right now, Arisu," Danielle said as she and Lina both took a place at her bed side. "What is, is that you're safe, and that you don't have to worry about what happened because you won the whole thing."

"Really?" Arisu asked excited. "That's a relief. Now I don't have to worry about Sacha going over to your team."

"Hey, what about me?" Fiona asked with her cheeks puffed out.

"No offense, Fiona, but frankly if I was sure that Sacha wouldn't go for the knife cabinet again, I'd have you replaced like that," she said snapping her fingers. "But what about the other three Kings I was battling."

"The other chess teams already left to begin their strategy forming for the next competition," Akemi explained. "Their Pokémon are still here getting treatment, though, and aside from, there were no abnormalities in the competition."

"What abnormality?" Arisu asked as Akemi covered her mouth and left the room. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's just a little shaken up after seeing your battle skills today," Devon lied. "Trust me, we were all a little surprised."

"Well, if that's all, I think I'm gonna get your dinner started, Arisu," Danielle said with Lina following after her, and Sacha leaving the room to see Akemi outside the door with tears in her eyes as though she were afraid.

"You fine?" Sacha asked as Akemi suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, and cry into his chest.

"She was so scary," Akemi said between try to breather and cry. "Why does somebody as terrifying as her exist on this team?"

"Arisu not monster," Sacha said stroking her head. "Arisu is Arisu. She a good person, but when she under stress, she like a lot of people. She become more violent, and she seem different from everything we know about her. Arisu is still Arisu, Arisu is still friend."

"Why can't you be supportive like that when it comes to the royalty's decision to set you up on a date for Halloween?" Akemi said beginnign to wipe her tears away.

"That still valid?" Sacha asked as Akemi nodded, and Sacha slowly walked over to the wall, beginning banging his head back and forth on the wall.

* * *

Back in SuperNova dorm, Taisuke sat alone in her room, shuffling her deck of tarot cards, and flipped over the top card after cutting the deck in half. After looking at the card, she threw it down on the table disdainfully, and looked out the window with the snow already approaching the rest of the academy.

"Why couldn't I have been warned about this sooner?" she asked as she looked back at the card depicting a winged human with a trumpet in its hands with the caption underneath reading, "The Judgement." _"The Judgement is a card depicting an archengel coming to earth to save, and cleanse the sinners of their inquities. When seen in the tarot, it refesr to casting off an old, and putting on a new. But in all ways it signals a change that will occur. Arisu is the Judgement, she has the ability to inspire new life into a battered Pokémon, but at the same time influences it with her word, and then makes the Pokémon realize what it is truly capable of. The source of her power is still up in the air, and definitely up to debate, but the fact remains that we may never understand who Arisu Senjougahara is. Until then, who will be next to declare Checkmate?"_

* * *

**Dorm points have been reset as per the rules of the Battle Royal.**

* * *

Chapter seven complete. My fingers hurt to no end! But I think this went rather well, and now we know what's going to happen as a result, as if you couldn't see it already. But now we have a little bit more into all of the MoonBeam members, and as a result, I have a poll about them, and we'll see how that goes off. Until then, Ja nee.

* * *

Credits:

(MoonBeam)

Arisu Senjougahara & Eelektross, Fiona Hendricks & Froslass, Donato Jacaruso & Scrafty, Devon Anderson & Absol, Sacha Tatarinov & Lampent, Akemi Tomomiya & Rotom: NightFall00

(SuperNova)

Christian Picklesimer & Metagross: pokemonmaster111

Anya Riveras & Grumpig: Amerath's Destiny

Tier Trivera & Glaceon: Miss Tigger

Parthos Gurrerier (Pokémon TBA): Phil the Persona Guy

Taisuke Yana (Pokémon TBA): Cyanide the Sneasel

Rokuro Endo (Pokémon TBA): ThePokémonNerdOriginal

(CraterStrike)

Jared Frederick & Tyranitar: Lazyboredom

Jacqueline "Jackie" Reynolds & Mawile: Mirage Mystery

Chris (Last name TBA) & Archeops: Detonator Liberation

Olivia Hale (Pokémon TBA): Gentle Blossom

Candice "Candi" Laria Isra (Pokémon TBA): Lolli-S

Adrian Kingrey (Pokémon TBA): Atmosbreak

(GalaxyStorm)

Tyson Arashi & Dragonite: Inhuman X

Helen Sklyon & Flygon: thesecretkeeper11

Zero Silvers & Gabite: GhostHuntingLuxray456

Marlen Sasaki & Togekiss: FlyPandaBear

Serena Robinson (Pokémon TBA): HazelFireSky

Mike "Ike" Valenite & Vigoroth: comicfan616

(SunLight)

Flarita Taiyo & Charizard: Leodasdragon

Lina Hikari & Meganium: The Purple Rose of Desire

Austin Withers & Magmortar: The Helpless Romantic

Melissa Bryant (Pokémon TBA): Sparky Pokémon

Glenn Tabirs (Pokémon TBA): PantherX14

Mike Connors (Pokémon TBA): whoneedspennamewhenigotthis

(PlanetFoundation)

Katherine Hughes & Slowbro: kitsunelover300

Danielle Quinn & Lapras: Acereader55

Hibiki Morikushi & Gliscor: A.I. G-Man

George DeSan (Pokémon TBA): GoldenFeatherKyru

Geo Raiden (Pokémon TBA): SparkLuxLucios

Amelia Blitz (Pokémon TBA): thesweetshipper


	9. Falling on Blind Eyes

Hello everybody, sorry about last week, and not being able to update, but as I promised, here we are again with Checkmate (cue fanfare). Now as we remember last time we talked, all of the MoonBeam members had been introduced slightly, and now we start to get into some of the other characters. Now obviously, some focus has to be kept on MoonBeam while some can be placed on the other dorms, and this one focuses on some of the more mysterious characters, and one in particular that we've seen several times, but know nothing about. Well, since I think I've talked for a while, let's get started with what you want to see.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

* * *

Chapter 8: Falling on Blind Eyes

When one refers to somebody as metaphorically blind, it doesn't necessarily mean that the subject is of poor eyesight, but more or less has problem accepting what they see, or not understanding what they see. These people are often very arrogant in the way they think, building themselves up, only for them to be teared down all the harder. Other times, these people are just naive, being very manipulative into different ideas, causing themselves even more harm when they learn of the truth. And in the more likely of times, people are aware of what is reality, and try their best not to accept it, or leave it out of their minds in a vain attempt to protect themselves. The sad thing is when you see these people finally accept what the reality around them is, and it causes them to see the world in black and white, sometimes never allowing them to trust them again.

In the chess game at Nix Academy, the Bishop pieces are chosen by the administration for a near perfect behavioral record, but also for their knowledge of the more spiritual essences of the world of Pokémon. This is shown in different ways for each person; whether it be their fascination with the subject rather than their actual intelligence of it, or the fact that they themselves, are from a more spiritual world deep within the Pokémon world, and have mastered the different techniques that we as humans are truly capable of. What students have always seen about the Bishops at Nix that, no matter who they are, quiet or friendly, the six pieces are often a close community, and more so in this year because of three people in particular. The first being Sacha, obviously, but at the same time Candice of CraterStrike, and Taisuke of SuperNova. Many become confused at first glance what their connection, but after seeing the three of them, the answer becomes even clearer.

* * *

Dining at students is based on one of two options at Nix Academy; the students have a choice of either making their own meals, or eating at a large buffet-style dining hall. The dining hall, used by the vast majoirty of the student population, is the kind large enough to accomodate the entirety of the students and staff, with a part of the common reisdents of the academy island. Always having any kind of food requested, the dining hall staff is made up of primarily chefs from more high end society areas, with the individual students as servers.

In the dining area, far to the back corner of the room, both Sacha and the Bishop from PlanetFoundation, Geo Raiden, sat with large trays full of food that neither had barely touched. Both Bishops were looking over books written in fairly outdated scripts, and then busily writing down notes as they read, taking barely any time in between to eat what was in front of them. As Geo stretched out his back over the end of his seat, he reached his arm to the side to relieve some of the tension when he noticed that Sacha hadn't even flinched upon his moving, and was still working on the text.

"You really are like a robot, aren't you?" Geo asked as sacha nodded while still looking down at the book. "And yet you aren't willing to concede to my theory that Dialga travels through time like Celebi."

"Celebi is time travel Pokémon," Sacha said still not looking up, even when taking a bite of his food. "It travel through time as defense mechanism to avoid capture. Dialga only control time, he have no need to travel through it."

"Make your case, then I'll believe you," Geo said as Sacha finally relaxed from his work, and set his pencil down. "First, I'll give you my evidence; Dialga, as the Temporal Pokémon, is a Pokémon that Arceus made to govern the entirety of all forms of time, and its counting. It's ludicrous to think that such a Pokémon wouldn't take advantage of that to prove its own power."

"Dialga is like Christian," Sacha said in retort, reaching for more of his food. "It find no reason to prove its power, and no seeks award. Dialga no even live in our dimension, but a dimension that acts as a gateway to anywhere. Dialga travel more through dimensional hop, rather than time hop."

"So you think Pokémon don't have their own sense of pride, or don't want to prove their own power?" Geo asked. "Name one kind of Pokémon that doesn't like proving itself."

"Legendary have no reason to prove their power," Sacha answered quikcly, never actually facing Geo. "There no person who no know of the power any legendary Pokémon have. Proving power is thing that Pokémon do if they think other people think they weak. Legendary are alway seen as strong, so they have no reason."

"Getting back to your second point," Geo said desparately trying to change the subject. "If Dialga travels through a dimensional rift rather than a time rift, doesn't that put it on the same power type as Palkia or Giratina?" he asked.

"Da," Sacha said finally looking up to face his rival. "Palkia, Giratina, and Dialga all Pokémon made by Arceus. While they have different power they represent, they all have similarity to prove their difference. Dialga control time, Palkia control space, and Giratina control anti-matter. All are dragon, but all have different secondary type. They all rival each other, but also need each other. All three are same Pokémon, but at same time, they also different. Each has own power, but all share travel style. Giratina can move from his own world, to ours; Palkia and Dialga both travel through dimension, which is not technically a space, but a combination of space and time."

"You know something," Geo started. "When you make a really good point, that completely disproves mine, and in that choppy English, it makes me want to belt one."

"I get that a lot," Sacha said as he went back to his work. "Also, you know when Bishop challenge is?"

"You should probably ask Taisuke, on that one," Geo answered. "She just came from a meeting about the Bishop challenge, and we're supposed to be meeting up with her later. And that includes her, Candi, Glenn, and Serena."

"Why we meet candy?" Sacha asked as he wiped his lips of any excess amount of food.

"Because she's a Bishop like us," Geo said confused.

"You mean Candice?" Sacha asked as Geo gave him a rather annoyed looked.

"Yes, but she prefers to go by 'Candi,'" Geo explained. "It's like a nickname."

"That strange name for person," Sacha said as he began shuffling his books into a bag. "Why person want to be called thing other than own name?"

"Your real name is Aleksander, right?" Geo asked. "I don't see the difference."

"In my language, full name is of three," Sacha said holding up his fingers while stepping down from his seat while Geo packed up his own books. "First name, patronymic, and family name. My full name is Aleksander Ivanovich Tatarinov. My nickname Sacha is to make it easy for people to address me. I see no difficulty in name Candice, and a need to change it to Candi."

"It's a preference for some people," Geo said as the two walked out of the dining hall. "A lot of people think that if their name is a bit more unique when being used as the way they're normally addressed, it makes them mroe memorable."

"Candice memorable enough," Sacha said as he opened the door to the outside, and let Geo go first. "She no know how to stop talking."

"I'll agree with you on that one," Geo said giving off a slight chukle. "If a Chatot were to be given a full box of soda, along with three bags of twenty five pound sugar, and then five pounds of candied fruit, it would be about half of the energy that Candi has in her body right now."

"Is almost time to sleep," Sacha said as Geo gave a large nod to make his point. "I see point now."

* * *

As the two walked down the main path of the school building, they continued to talk amongst each other about their previous arguement given the topic of Dialga and time travelling versus dimensional travelling. The conversation became so lively that niether of them noticed two trainers walking up behind them with their PokéBalls already expanded in their hands. One gave a quick sneer, and threw the capsule towards Sacha expecting it to impact with his head before sending out the Pokémon inside.

"Take that, Tatarinov," the trainer said as the person next to them chuckled slightly.

"Geo," Sacha said as his rival nodded, and smiled before making a quick pivet around in his standing. In the same instant, Geo extended his arm, and caught the PokéBall tightly in his hand before looking at the two trainers. "Triple-S?" Sacha questioned as Geo nodded.

"Seems so," Geo said throwing the ball back to the trainer who caught, and gritted her teeth. "I'm guessing they're trying to be more mobile with this next year, seeing as all of their attempts in the last two years never amounted to anything more than a few stitches for Aaron."

"Maybe so, but we have both of you surrounded," the trainer who threw the PokéBall said as she flipped around, and made note of all of the trainers behind her, and behind the two Bishops. "So, what do you think is gonna happen through all of this?"

"Lampent," Sacha said dropping his PokéBall on the ground. "Vlevo, sprava, i vpered, ten myachom. Seychas!" he commanded within seconds as the ghost and fire type began shooting off Shadow Ball attacks to the left, right, and then directly forward as instructed.

While several of the Triple-S members found some way to dodge the fast attack, several of them were caught in the small explosion made by the attack, and forced them down before even having the chance to fight back. After the attack, the remaining operatives of the group threw their PokéBalls at the two Bishops, having them surrounded by fairly normal Pokémon mostly ranging from bug to poison to normal types. The two people who had originally confronted the two as well, sent out their Pokémon, successfully this time, revealing them as a Haunter and Venomoth.

"What do you think, Sacha?" Geo said preparing his own PokéBall. "A little mix and match?"

"Nyet," Sacha said as Geo looked at him. "I take high, you take low," he said as Geo gave a quick chukle.

"Then I guess I'll be in Scotland before ye," Geo said jokingly before throwing the capsule towards the sky, resulting in its opening on the descent down. "Five seconds, ready?"

"Da," Sacha said holding out his fingers. "Pyats," he began coutning down from five as the light from the PokéBall had yet to recede around Geo's partner. "Chetirye, tri, dva, odin..." he finished as Geo caught his PokéBall, and his Pokémon hit the ground in a loud echoing sound from the large body of the Pokémon in front of them.

"Swampert, show 'em who rules the ground," Geo said as his Pokémon gave a slight, low rumbling sound for a roar, and instantly went to work with Lampent joining in on the battle, taking care of any Pokémon that would attack form above.

The battle seemed to very one-sided in two respects as it ensued; in one way, the two Bishops were terribly outnumbered which would put the members of Triple-S at an advantage, but at the same time the difference in skill level helped to sway the favor to the side of the chess pieces currently attack from the two angles.

"Swampert, why don't we clear a little path for Lampent?" Geo asked as his Swampert turned to face the Haunter and Venomoth with a definite sneer in its eyes. "Hydro Pump!" he shouted as Swampert swatted aside a stray Golbat going in for an attack before rearing its head back, and thrusting it forward with a large jet of water shooting from it.

As the blast travelled past several of the Pokémon sent to guard the two Haunter and Venomoth owned by two of the higher ranking members of the more antagonistic syndicate, nobody in the area, whether they were part of the battle or not, couldn't help but be amazed at the concentrated power in Geo's Swampert. Even as the attack sent Pokémon after Pokémon flying out of the area, Swampert's Hydro Pump lost no momentum even when it reached to the Haunter and Venomoth, by which point, it had lost much of its original power, dealing considerable damage, but not enough to defeat either of the Pokémon.

"Sacha!" Geo shouted as his curretn partner turned to face the two members of Triple-S with a very calm, and ruthless expression on his face. "Do your stuff, my friend."

"Da," he said in return. "Lampent, Plamya Vzryv!" the MoonBeam Bishop commanded as Lampent released a small blast of fire that travelled at an amazing speed towards the two Pokémon, but was suddenly cut off by another Golbat who boldly took the entirety of the attack.

Even as the Golbat fell to the ground after the attack struck, the two officials from Triple-S had no time to relax as the saw two more burst of fire travelling towards their Pokémon almost as though it had branched off from the original attack. Directly as the smaller blasts impacted with the two Pokémon, they were returned to their PokéBalls, resulting in the two girls to run from the courtyard followed by the entirety of their subordinates.

"They no know when to quit, huh?" Sacha asked as he returned Lampent directly followed by Geo doing the same to Swampert.

"I don't know, but they do seem to getting more mobile in recent weeks," Geo said as he and Sacha both sat on a nearby bench. "I heard that Christian from SuperNova just took out a large number of them just this last weekend. It's hard to think that the Battle Royal has already been over since about two weeks ago," he said as Sacha instantly dropped his head limp.

"Two week until Halloween too," he said depressed as he flipped his head back up, and allowed it to hang limp over the back of the bench.

"Oh, come off it, Kathy's a good person, she won't make you do anything weird," Geo said placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you were going out with Fiona or Arisu, it might be different. If it were Candi or Taisuke, there would definitely be some kind of language barrier that would need be crossed. Between the former speaking Spanish and the latter speaking Japanese, it's like tri-fecta with you mixed in there."

"Is not so odd to find people who speak other language, is it?" Sacha asked, not understanding the strange position he was in based on his speaking another language.

"What you guys talking about?" a cheerful asked looking down at Sacha from his current angle with a wide grin making the Bishop drop in his expression seeing the CraterStrike Bishop Candice looking down at him. "Vamos, Taisuke got back from her meeting," she said grabbing Sacha's arm, beginning to drag him acorss the ground back towards the school's main building.

"Mat!" Sacha said loudly as Geo and Candice both looked at him confused. _"Is good thing they no speak my language."_

* * *

Inside one of the empty classrooms, Candice swung the door opened with Taisuke, Glenn and Serena all turning to see who was coming, and then noticed Sacha in his current position with an even more annoyed look than usual. After having Candice release him, Sacha stood up, and took his seat in between Glenn and Geo while Taisuke took hold of a piece chalk and quickly drew a raough drawing of the island.

"So, a lot of stuff at the meeting was pretty boring, but when they started to talk about the Bishop challenge, it became pretty interesting, expecially since they told me what kind it would be this year," Taisuke started out as she drew several circles in the spots approximately where the six dorms were. "So, aside from the Battle Royal the challenges for the individual pieces are always different, and this time, we're not just talking about a simple one day challenge, but something a bit more out there."

"Out there, in what way?" Glenn asked as he propped his feet on the desk in front of him. "I remember hearing about it last year, and it was just some kind of challenge at knowledge concerning legendary Pokémon."

"When I brought that up, they said that Sacha and Geo always bring up the point that any study made on any legendary Pokémon is always circumstantial, and up for debate so they scrapped that idea to begin with," Taisuke said as she looked at both of the other male Bishops. "So for this year, it's more of a test to see who is the most resilient of the Bishops given the different situations there are put in."

"What do you mean resilient?" Geo asked.

"Resilient is usually used to refer to a kind of person that's adaptable, and able to manipulate themselves to become more comortable depending on what's happening around them," Serena explained looking over Glenn. "They're trying to see if we can be as behaved as we normally are if we're put into a new kind of situation, am I right?" she asked, turnign her attention to Taisuke.

"Exactly," Taisuke said. "And to the administration, there is only one to put us into a situation that really puts us to the test," she said beginnign to draw arrows connecting one of the dorms to another.

"Dorm switch?" Sacha asked as Taisuke look back at him surprised.

"Well, yeah, basically," Taisuke admitted. "The higher-ups are making us switch our dorms so we can be put to the test to see if we are really the people we claim to be when it comes to different teams."

"That's it?" Geo asked as he stood up. "If that's all, then why make a big fuss over it? You could have just as easily told us over a phone call, or e-mail. Unless, there's still something we have to here."

"Yep," Taisuke said turning around to reveal a large jar with six folded pieces of paper. "Take a piece of paper, and if it's your dorm put it back, and try again. The administration wanted me to get this done so we can start this tomorrow night. Just as a warning, the hardest part of this challenge won't be adjusting to the new dorm you'll be staying in for a week, but the idea that you won't be able to battle anyone from the dorm you'll be staying, and that any points you win, will be going to your current dorm."

"Interesnyy," Sacha said grasping for a paper, and quickly checking it before placing it into his pocket.

"Sounds like fun," Geo said doing the same, but suddenly putting it back, signifying that he had received his own, and then grabbing another, pleased by the result.

"This will definitely be one of the better events," Serena said as she reached into the jar, and grabbed a piece of paper, and taking the paper gleefully.

"Esto sera impresionante," Candice said before acting very secretive selecting about her paper, before swiftly recoiling back after grabbing one.

"If I must," Glenn said taking the second to last paper leaving Taisuke with one to choose from.

"Yoshi," Taisuke said looking at her paper, and smiling contently as all six Bishops placed their assigned dorms on the table, and compared with the others. "So as it stands, I'll be going to MoonBeam, Serena will be staying at SuperNova, Glenn to GalaxyStorm, Geo to CraterStrike, Candi will go to SunLight, and Sacha will be staying in PlanetFoundation. If everybody is in agreement, then let's get ready," she relayed as all the other Bishops aside from Sacha raised their fists in agreement.

As the Bishops left the room one by one, Geo stopped Sacha only for a moment to talk with him about any kind of strategy he had for helping him through this. After he admitted that he wasn't sure if he could, Sacha noticed Taisuke still at the board, and scribbling something along the bottom right corner. As she finished writing, she turned to face the two rivals with a confident look on her face, and then read what was on the board.

"Eipam mo ki kara ochiru," she said as she passed by both of them, confusing Geo as she flashed a smile to both confident in her speech. "Ponder that for a while," she finished before disappearing behind the door frame.

"What do you supposed that means?" Geo said noticing that Sacha had already left, and was following after Taisuke.

"Even Aipom fall from tree," Sacha said loud enough for her to hear as Taisuke widened her eyes out of surprise as she turned around. "It mean that even best fail at something. Arisu use same expression a lot too. You no able to fool me like I fool everybody else."

"Hmph, we'll see about that," Taisuke said as she turned around waving her hand as to say goodbye. "Ja nee, Sacchan."

"Sacchan?" Geo questioned as Sacha walked away from the hall, and back towards the exit that would be closest to his own dorm. "Why do I feel like I just got left out of the entire conversation?" he asked upwards as though expecting an answer.

* * *

Back in the MoonBeam dorm upon Sacha's return from the recent meeting, a loud shriek erupted from the fifth floor as the door to Sacha's and Devon's room burst open with Fiona running towards the Bishop, knocking him onto his bed next to his already half packed suitcase.

"Please tell me it isn't true, Sacha!" Fioan requested desparately, grasping his hands and holding them at eye level to both of them. "Please tell me you're not going to the land of the beast."

"What is beast?" Sacha asked as Fiona stepped into the room, and saw the door torn off of its hinges, and on top of the Knight who had the misfortune of standing in front of it when Fiona went on her rampage.

"You know something, Devon," Fioan started kneeling next to her flattened teammate. "You look more natural in that position."

"Shut up and get this hunk of mahogany off of me," Devon said angrily as Fiona and Sacha were still stuck in the same position. "What is this about Sacha?" Devon asked moving much of the door with his back. "After nearly killing me, I think you owe us an explanation."

"Is for Bishop challenge," Sacha said as he forced himself up, and reaching underneath his bed where a series of drawers sat. "We all go to different dorm for week period, and I go to PlanetFoundation dorm while Taisuke from SuperNova dorm come here."

"You mean," Fiona started making sure to put as much drama as possible in her voice, and her actions. "I'll be separated from my darling Sacha for an entire week?"

"Da," Sacha said plainly, not looking at any of the people behind her, and therefore not seeing how the bluntness of his answer shot through Fiona like an arrow. "Is only for week, and I be back directly after. I just packing for tonight, anyway. I leave tomorrow after school end."

"What reason would they have for making you move to the most frigid part of the school?" Devon contemplated as Fiona was still writhing on the ground in shock.

"PlanetFoundation was random choice, but at same time, challenge theme decided to test Bishop behavior in time that make it harder to be composed," Sacha explained. "Placing us in enemy territory will help to do that, and will be very interesting, I think."

"Solid logic, I'll admit," Arisu said taking a seat at Sacha's desk towards the corner of the room. "It might also help to get information against PlanetFoundation. As it stands, Danielle does have a pretty big grudge against Fiona, and if you can get her to stop, it might help to ease the tension between them. Not to mention get some good information on the other pieces in that dorm."

"She's got a point, Sacha," Devon said burshing off small splinters of wood from his back. "We already have all the information we need on both Danielle and Geo, seeing as you spend so much time with him. What we need to learn about now is their Knight and Pawn. So let's see how you do as the Russian spy, huh."

"I no go in as spy," Sacha declared, placing the last few clothing items in his bag, while surprising the other members of his dorm by his bluntness. "Bishop is depicted as man of church, and of honest nature. If I become less of that person, I fail at both challenge and at fulfilling my position," he explained as he completed closing off his bag. "Beside that, Geo is friend, and if I betray him, I no longer have other people to talk to about research."

The three other members in the room fell silent as they saw Sacha placed his suitcase on the floor next to the door before walking back to his bed, and lay down as though nothing had just happened. At the same time, when Fiona went to get closer to Sacha, she was stopped by Arisu, who just simply shook her head, and led the other two out of the room. After reaching the outside, Devon suddenly stopped walking, and then looked back at his room.

"Where am I supposed to sleep if we're leaving Sacha to gather his thoughts?" Devon asked as he felt something impact with his face. "Pillow, huh? Well where's the blanket?" he asked as Arisu and Fiona disappeared behind the door. "No sympathy, huh?" he said turning around only to be smacked from behind with a large blanket folded into the smallest, and most condenced way it could be. "I don't know if they're trying to be nice, or if they waited for me to turn my back."

Alone in his room, Sacha lied awake after he felt the three of the members previously in the room leave. He sat up, and moved silently to his desk, turned on his lamp, and reached for a small book in a locked drawer. As he began to write, completely in Russian, Sacha began to think about a lot of what had just happened recently, and even earlier in the day when he and Geo were attacked by Triple-S. After reaching the bottom of the page in his book, Sacha ended it with a small crucifix symbol before touching the top of his head, his heart, and both shoulders.

* * *

Towards the northern area of the campus, Christian stood in Taisuke's doorway as she too was busy packing before going to the MoonBeam dorm after tomorrow's classes, and couldn't help but chuckle to himself alerting Taisuke to his presence. Neither said anything, but both just stared at each other for several minutes before Christian pushed himself off of the door frame, and began walking away from the Bishop.

"Are you angry at something?" Taisuke asked as Christian stopped and returned to Taisuke's room. "Normally when you walk away without a word, you're usually angry about something."

"It's not that I'm particulary angry, but a little confused about certain things that go on around me," Christian admitted as he walked towards the Bishop. "It's human nature to want to stay in control, and when you're thrust into a situation you aren't familiar with, it makes you want to control something else to keep the blaance in your life."

"And what you can't control at the current moment is my leaving for a week," Taisuke said, dragging her bag along the ground before placing it next to her door. "I never knew you cared."

"It's not that," Christian said as he placed a hand on Taisuke's head. "I'll have to live with somebody from a rival dorm for the next week. How do I know they're not going to steal any of our secrets? That, and even if I were for this, I'd prefer Sacha because then I'd know anything he finds out, he'd keep it to himself."

"Sacchan is a little too into the whole honor thing, isn't he?" Taisuke said sitting down at her round table with her tarot deck already out. "But if you want to know about the situation that will happen while Serena is here, I can help with that," she said motioning for the opposite end of the table she was seated at. "Cut the deck," she requested as Christian took the top half of the deck off, with Taisuke taking the top card from the second half.

"The Wheel of Fortune," Taisuke said, placing the card on the table, with a depiction of a large wheel seemingly turning clockwise, with all kinds of creatures in the different sections, alchemic symbols, and a large Sphinx perched on top of the wheel. "Whether this is for Serena or this dorm's team is still up to debate, but the fact remains that in the near future there will be a point in time that will bring good fortune to somebody."

"If it's for Serena, then we could have a problem," Christian said. "Tyson's told me that she's not exactly a very stable person. Not to mention, her personality is a little backwards," he explained as Taisuke looked at him confused. "She's serious in everything she does, but in battle she seems to relax and make it seem that everything is no big deal."

"Let's see what else will come," Taisuke said as she flipped the next card over to face the both of them. "The Hermit," she said slightly confused looking at the card depcting a robed man hunched over with a lantern hanging from a rod with a barren landscape in the back. "A card desiring the serene peace of isolation. A person that wishes to be left alone will find themselves in good fortune over this time period."

"Maybe the next one will tell you something a bit more specific," Christian suggested as Taisuke nodded and flipped the next card.

Taisuke heaved out a large sigh, and dropped the card on the table. Depicting a man with colorful clothing, a bag strapped to a rod, and a small canine next to him as he looked out off the edge of a cliff, the card Taisuke also had the title underneath the picture reading in bold letters, "The Fool." Christian looked up at Taisuke to see her face slightly frustrated, giving him the impression that it whatever the card represented, it wasn't good for them.

"Does it mean that this is about Serena?" Christian asked as Taisuke packed up her cards into a box, and shook her head towards Christian.

"The tarot cards are based on a story that start with the Fool," Taisuke explained. "As the Fool travels the world the other tarot cards appear in his life, and the possibilities that go along with him are endless."

"Meaning," Christian started, beginning to contemplate for several seconds before something clicked. "That card represents an infinite number of possibilities."

"Exactly," Taisuke said as she walked over, and sat down at her bed. "It could be someone form this dorm, Serena, it could be one of the other dorms for all we know. But as it stands, somebody in this whole grand scheme of things who desires isolation will find themselves in good fortune very soon."

"And if it's Serena, we are screwed," Christian said leaving the room. "I'll tell everybody to be on guard for the next week, and to never leave Serena in any of these rooms alone. We'll probably have to get Anya to agree to have her bunk with her. That'll be fun to attempt."

After Christian left the room, Taisuke's bright mood quickly dimmed as she looked out her window to see the snow falling all around the dorm, and even more so in the caves. As she watched the snow fall, she couldn't help but be lulled by the calming nature that the frozen rain gave off with its white color, and slow falling. As she drifted of to sleep, she could barely keep her eyes open while making every effort to stay awake and think longer. As she fell to her bed asleep, her mind, still very active taking her into her subconscious mind.

* * *

Taisuke reopened her eyes to see the entire area around her to be pitch black; having no light anywhere except for the bottom of her feet as she walked through the strange world she was in. As she turned around at the sound of a very obvious noise, Taisuke saw the back of a tarot card about the same size as her making her wonder about where she was. as she reached out to touch it, Taisuke felt a small race in heart begin making her more nervous when she actuall did touch it, making it turn around. As the card made a full one eighty turn, Taisuke backed up in surprise to see the Hanged Man card, but with Sacha in place of the normal man.

"What's going on here?" she asked as she backed up, hitting another large tarot card, with it turning around to show a card depicting Candice in long blue and white robes in between two pillars, each its own color of black or white with the words "The High Priestess" written at the bottom. "Why are you all in tarots?" she asked as she again backed into another card.

As she sped around, she saw three other cards make their way towards her, and turn around with Glenn, Serena, and Geo all within one of the many tarot cards in her deck. With Glenn in a card depicting him riding a chariot with several sun and moon symbols around the border, and black and white creatures pulling the cart, Taisuke looked at the bottom to confirm that it was indeed a card called "The Chariot." Looking at Geo's card, Taisuke saw him on a throne with one of his hands raised, and a rod or sceptor in the other, in between two pillars with the words underneath, "The Hierophant." Taisuke then turned to face Serena's card which made her widen her eyes even more as her body was covered by a thick robe, and she stared at Taisuke while holding a lantern at the end of a rod with the words at the bottom, "The Hermit."

"What does all of this mean?" Taisuke asked as she looked at everyone in the tarot cards. "Is this who you all truly are?" she asked as she tried to back away from them all, but found herself up against a final card in the area that made her turn around hesitantly, as though expecting a certain card. "The Tower, right?" she asked the five cards who all nodded once making her turn around.

With her making a final turn, Taisuke stared up at the Tower card, and saw a small mirror in place of a head of one of the falling people. Taking a step back to stare at the card, Taisuke noted everything about it from its pillar based design, to its foundation on a rocky cliff over the ocean with a storm raging in the background. She nodded slightly, and shed a tear as she walked into the card where her head was put into place of one of two people falling from the stone structure.

* * *

Morning came, and Taisuke bolted up awake with her body covered in sweat from her dream as she looked over at the tarot cards in a box at her table. She quickly sprang from bed, and turned the deck upside down to show all of the depictions instead of their uniform back. Pulling out the specific six cards she found her dream, Taisuke looked at each one, and then nodded about the corrolation to each person. She then looked at the card that she was depicted as towards the end of her dream, The Tower, and placed it back into the deck solemnly while placing the tarot deck in her suitcase.

_"The Tower is a very dangerous card,"_ Taisuke said to remind herself. _"The men falling from the tower that the card depicts were self-righteous. Believing themselves capable of not having to live by the same rules as others. The tarot story says that the Fool also once helped to make the tower, but at the same time was saved from facing the same fate of those who fell from the tower, and were too late to realize that death is something every man must face. In our world, it is meant to depict a time when our lies may set us apart, but the truth that we are all the same at the end is what sets us free from our own worlds."_

* * *

For normal classes, the day for many of the chess pieces last too short, made apparent while Sacha walked towards the train for the PlanetFoundation dorm with Fiona gripping onto his waist to keep him form leaving. With the entirety of his team following after him, most likely to drag Fiona back before meeting with Taisuke, Sacha looked forward at the full PlanetFoundation dorm team with Geo still with them to greet Sacha who softened his expression, but still made no effort to show any form of leniency with anybody.

"Fair warning, bud," Geo said as he reached his arm around Sacha's shoulder. "Danielle's gonna use this to get back at so much against Fiona so be careful when you're around her, go it?" he asked as Sacha just nodded, and watched behind him as the other members of his team tried to remove Fiona from his waist.

"You can't make me let go!" Fiona shouted as she desparately clung to Sacha who held up his index and middle finger before jabbing it against her left arm. "Sacha, no!" she shouted as the MoonBeam team members began dragging her back to where Donato's car was.

"Oh, this is gonna be perfect," Danielle said as she wrapped her arms around Sacha from behind, and stuck her tongue out at Fiona who could barely see it, but still attempted to break out after seeing Danielle in such close proximity to Sacha. "The only downside is that we don't have classes this week, so we'll have to go and visit the MoonBeam dorm in order to rub this in her face," she said releasing Sacha who still made no reaction.

"Well, welcome to the PlanetFoundation dorm, Sacha," Katherine said holding out her hand as Sacha nodded, and shook her hand making the King of the dorm feel slightly dizzy after he let go.

"And now she's not going to wash that hand for the entire week," George, the dorm's Knight, whispered to both the Rook, Hibiki, and the Pawn, Amelia.

"This is definitely not going to be a good thing over the next few days, is it?" Amelia asked as Hibiki just shook his head.

* * *

Towards the northern area of the school building, closer to the trains commuting to SuperNova, Serena was giving hugs to all of her teammates before leaving with the other SuperNova team members who all looked at her suspiciously as they boarded the train. As Christian allowed her to go first onto the platform, he suddenly froze as she passed by, and noticed that her smile very quickly changed to a more serious look spying the King. As the other members boarded the train, Christian stopped Anya, and leaned over to whisper something into her ear making the Queen squint her eyes out of confusion.

While travelling through the train system, Serena noticed the tension rising on both sides of her, and she made a deep sigh while trying to keep a pleasant smile on her face. _"Boy, these people really don't get the concept, do they? I'm only doing this for the points it'll get my dorm, and they think this is a plot to steal trade secrets. I was right, this whole school thing is a giant waste of time."_

* * *

As Geo walked towards the CraterStrike dorm, his thoughts were still on the attack by Triple-S, and how frontal they were about it. The more he though, the more confused he made himself.

_"Triple-S is nothing but a bunch of students who can't accept the systems of this school, and feel the need to act out against it,"_ he said to himself as he continued to walk down the stone path to the dorm he would be staying at. _"What's more, the fact that they were to be so bold as to make a frontal assault is definitely out of their style. Even two years ago they had to lure the pieces out to the forest, and it made things seem as though they were ninjas or assassins. Why would they start to make their appearance known? Triple-S is a student organization not recognized by the administration, so, legally, it can't exist, and yet it does because the administration is to busy with what happens in front of them, and not what happens behind their back. Why would they be so lenient about these people? Unless they really are clueless, there's always one other option..."_

* * *

With the SunLight dorm students returning, they all made sure to keep their guards up as Candice walked through the dorm lobby, with a bubble of gum being blown from her every few seconds. As soon as she entered the center of the lobby she turned around and noticed how many people were trying to avoid her despite her being clueless to a reason for the tension. Tilting her head sideways out of confusion, Candice blew another bubble, and shrugged her shoulders before turning around, only to bump into another person who made no sound as he fell to the ground.

"Lo siento," Candice said as she opened her eyes to see a pawn chess piece leading to the respective chess member, Mike Connors. "Hola," she said to him as she extended her arm, only for him to stand on his own, and run back up to the fifth floor. "What'd I do?" she asked looking back to see the other four SunLight dorm chess pieces in the doorway.

"It's not your fault," Taiyo said as she placed her hand on her shoulder. "Mike hasn't said anything since he came here. He's just shy," she said as Candice looked up at the stair case with a warm smile on her face.

"Un poco lindo, eh?" she said as she ran up the stairs while waving goodbye to the other members.

"This ain't gonna end well, is it?" Melissa, the Knight of the dorm, asked as the other members of the dorm all shook their heads.

* * *

After having sent their Bishop to the SuperNova dorm, the remaining members of the GalaxyStorm dorm were waiting for their new Bishop for the week when they saw something approaching the train station that seemed just a little out of the ordinary. Coming over a rise in the path to the boarding station, a Galvantula began approaching the GalaxyStorm team with its trainer, Glenn, in tow from a single thread of web held onto from its back leg. As the GalaxyStorm members looked at the pair, the galvantula began chittering excitedly and motioned for something towards its back. As Ike walked up to it, he looked over at Glenn to see him fast asleep, and then noticed a note on Galvantula's abdomen.

"What you got here, buddy?" Ike asked reaching for the note. "It says, 'Forgive me for coming to you in this way, btu I was studying for my test all of last night, and after I finished I collapsed from fatigue. Aragog will be bringing me to the dorm so there is no reason to help him.' Man does this guy have issues," Ike said handing the note off to Tyson.

"I wouldn't so much call it issues as it is an inferiority complex," Tyson said folding the note into his pocket and motioning for the Galvantula, apparently named Aragog, to follow after them. "I'll say this though, he's certainly got quite the Pokémon. Galvantula are extremely closely knit Pokémon to their comrades in the wild, and when trained, they become very dejected from their trainers for quite some time. Obviously, Glenn is more of a genius than we figured. Come on, Aragog. Let's get him on the train."

* * *

Back at the main school building, four of the MoonBeam members waited patiently by Donato's car for Taisuke who was either lost, or making them wait on purpose based on her tardiness. Inside the car, Fiona had been bound and gagged with several pieces of duct tape as she struggled to get out of the car. Looking back at her, the others sighed, and continued to look out for Taisuke.

"If I had known she'd be this crazy I would've brought the chloroform," Donato said as the others chuckled. "I don't think it was Sacha leaving that was hard for her, but it was seeing her go to the one person who is so obvious in her hate for her. Especially since they're so similar in their body style, and even in their personality."

"That's what makes this so awesome," Devon said as he looked behind the back of the car to see if Taisuke was going to come from any other direction. "Now if only the girl would actually show up, the party would be complete."

"What do you guys actually know about Taisuke?" Akemi asked as the other three looked at each other.

"Well, the thing is with all of the SuperNova team members is that none of them are returning team members," Arisu answered. "Taisuke and Parthos are both trasnfer students from last year, their Pawn is obviously not returning, Tier's a mystery in himself, and not one that people have ever cared to figure out, and then the two Royalty are fairly obvious. Christian was forced into his position, and Anya was never seen as much of anything beacuse of her stature."

"So, in short, the reason that SuperNova has a chance of beating us is that we have no idea who they are," Devon explained. "If it were up to me, I'd say that the only reason that none of them are returning pieces is because they were really easily defeated last year. I'll say this though, Parthos is good. We did a practice battle last year and he can really hold his own against dark types."

"At the same time, Tier is an expert tactician," Donato explained. "He's able to ananlyze a situation and then make a good strategy based on what he sees, hears, or smells. Then we got Christian who's a master battle in any regard rivaling our own Arisu in battle. Aside from that, Anya, their Pawn Rokuro, and Taisuke are sort of no-names with their true power not being exposed yet."

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing Sacha's not going to my dorm because you guys just seem to know everything," a voice said form on top of Donato's car leading to Taisuke. "Seriously, I've been waiting up here for ten minutes, baka," she said as she jumped down from the top.

"Why didn't you say something?" Devon asked.

"I wanted to see how perceptive you all were, and as it turns out, you have about as much perception as a drunken Spinda," Taisuke said opening the door and seeing Fiona the way she was. "Forget it, I don't want to know," she said climbing into the back seat. "I guess introductions are not needed."

"If you so wish," Arisu said climbing into the front seat. "Fair warning, that when we reach the dorm, keep you guard up. Even the people who aren't part of the chess team want to take a piece out of the rival teams once in a while, so it would probably be best to stay out of their way when you're alone."

"Alone?" Taisuke asked. "You're letting me stay in your dorm, and you'll let me stay by myself?"

"Why not?" Devon said. "You're not a prisoner. Consider yourself a teammate. We have no secrets that will hinder our abilities if you used them against us, and what's more the onyl weak link in our chain is currently preoccupied," he said pointing at Fioan who was still struggling to break the tape that kept her restrained.

"Besides, we're going to be learning more about you than you will about us," Donato said as Taisuke looked at them confused. "Believe you me, when you let something spill, Akemi will remember it like that," he said as he snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"In other words, be careful of what you say," Arisu said as she relaxed in her seat with Taisuke trying to calm herself inside.

_"Why do I get the feeling that even I do watch my words, Akemi will be able to figure everything out about me?"_ she asked inside looking at the Pawn. _"Controlling a Rotom by itself is difficult, and then when you add in that she has a photographic memory, you have to wonder what Akemi's real potential can be."_

* * *

After reaching the dorm, Taisuke climbed out of the car, and was suddenly surrounded by all sides by the other team members. For good measure, Devon sent out his Absol, and had it go into the dorm first, at which point it let out a low growl making it clear that it still wasn't particularly safe for Taisuke, but she still wanted to progress in the dorm.

"Before we enter," Devon said. "Swear by the honor of this dorm's record, and by your King Arisu that you will not so much as harm a hair on Taisuke Yana. Or you'll have us to answer to," he finished as Absol continued to growl at the other students living in the dorm.

Upon entering the dorm, Taisuke looked around at all of the students who continually sneered at her, making her hold her head in slight pain as she followed behind Devon and Absol. Upon reaching the spiral staircase, Taisuke was pushed up the first few steps as the five other chess pieces turned to face the other students who still glared at the SuperNova Bishop. Taisuke ran up the stairs, and could hear the other team members quickly following after her in a mad dash.

"Are they really this mad at me?" Taisuke asked as she noticed only four of the team members on the fifth floor. "Where's Donato?" she asked.

"Two answers to that questions," Fiona said, finally freed from the duct tape. "One; he's going to take care of the other students, and two, he lives off campus anyway, so it's not like he lives with us."

"For the time being, you'll stay in Akemi's room," Arisu said as she motioned for one of the doors. "We all eat dinner at six, and if I do recall it is Fiona's turn to get the food. Sacha's day is generally Monday so you'll have the dinner shift then. Choose anything you want; Sacha normally cooks for us, but if you so wish, you can just get take-out."

"Sure," she said as she walked into the bedroom with Akemi, making her feel even more nervous as the two were left alone.

"Is it true that you're a psychic?" Akemi asked excitedly, as Taisuke was taken aback by her eager attitude. "Did you bring your tarot cards with you?"

"Yes," Taisuke answered slowly, and grabbed the deck of cards from her bag. "Please have a seat," she said as she and Akemi both sat down at a circular table making Taisuke feel more comfortable. "Cut the deck, if you will," she said as Akemi followed her instructions. "What question do you have for the cards?"

"Tell me something about myself," Akemi said as Taisuke shrugged her shoulders and reached for the top card.

"Hmm, The Fool," she said as she thought back to her dream with her and the other Bishops as tarot cards. She felt another twinge in her head that made her hold it out of pain.

"What's wrong?" Akemi asked looking at the clairvoyant. "Is there something wrong with me?" she asked Taisuke was able to hold in the pain, and turn back to face Akemi.

"No," Taisuke said. "It's a personal problem," she explained as she looked at the card. "You're an unpredictable person who's greatest talents have yet to be realized by your teammates, friends, and in a way, even yourself. You don't know what you're actually capable of, and you're afraid of what people will think of when you tell them the truth of who you are."

"I'm lying about something?" Akemi asked as Taisuke suddenly realized what she said, and started chuckling nervously. "Is there something I should know about?" she asked.

"No, my mouth just slipped," Taisuke explained. "I did a reading earlier with this card, and that's the kind of feeling I was given from the cards."

"You have a hard time accepting reality, don't you?" Akemi asked leaning over the table to get a closer look at Taisuke. "I can tell in the way you move your eyes."

"Say what?" Taisuke asked as she instantly backed away from her.

"It's called a 'tell,'" Akemi said standing up. "It's used a lot by gamblers. It's some sort of idiosyncrasy they have that lets another person know when they're lying. When you shift your eyes to a different direction, it means your lying to me. And what I can tell is that you're talking about yourself, and that if you don't tell me what you're lying, I have my own ways to find out."

* * *

The room fell silent as Taisuke looked at Akemi who gave a confident smile before leaving the room, leaving Taisuke alone with her thoughts. As her mind began racing to think of some way out of her predicament, Taisuke looked out of the window to the side of the dorm, and noticed that the scenery was not as calming as she had hoped it would be. She flipped the two side of the deck upside down, and searched for the Tower card, and just stared at it on the table.

_"Self-righteous people, or people who can't accept who they are in reality are the ones doomed to fall off the tower,"_ Taisuke said to herself as she broke down on the table. _"People always ask what connects me, Candi, and Sacha. Aside from our use of language in battle, there's nothing that people can see on the surface. But looking underneath, and people see that we are connected in so many ways. It's why whenever Candi's said that she and Sacha have a special connection, it seems to be that she's right. We all speak other languages in battle, but at the same time, we also are hiding who we truly are. But now that things are starting to come to light; it seems as though none of the Bishops are entirely honest with either each other or with their team._

_"As it's said in my language, 'kabe ni mimi ari, shoujo ni me ari.' The walls have ears, and the doors have eyes. No secret is ever kept in a house. Within this next week, every secret that the Bishops have will be brought to light, and then none of us will ever be able to return to the way it was before. Ah, mou, this next week will not be going well for any of us will it?" _she asked as though waiting for somebody to answer.

* * *

In Arisu and Fiona's room, Akemi happily walked into the room with Devon and Arisu waiting for her, with expectant looks in their eyes. As she sat down, she began to act as though nothing had happened, until she turned around to see both of her teammates.

"What'd you find out about her?" Devon asked.

"Nothing, really," Akemi said as she looked at them confidently. "I'll say this, though," she said as Devon leaned over in his chair. "She's a really good psychic," she finished as Devon dropped in his expression, and fell to the ground out of shock.

"That's it!?" he asked as Akemi simply nodded.

"We still have a week with her, Devon," Arisu said. "Besides, it's like Sacha said once to me, 'Terpeniye i trud bsyo peretrut.' Patience and work will fray though anything. We don't have to know everything about her all at once, but if we want to make sure that SuperNova has less of a chance of beating us, it's best to let things go slowly with her, and let her tell us when she wants to."

_"Don't worry, Taisuke,"_ Akemi said to herself. _"You're reading was too far off. Everybody has a secret that they're not sure of if they want it to be known. At the same time, they also know that if other people are critical of others, it becomes even harder to let others know who you really are. You are blind to the truth that nothing is ever kept secret for too long, but at the same time you are very capable of seeing what is before you, and you lie to protect your friends. As they say in your language, ganbatte!"_

* * *

Credits:

First Appearances:

Geo Raiden & Swampert: SparkLuxLucios

Glenn Tabris & Galvantula (Aragog): PantherX14

* * *

Translation Notes (This is more for the cultural aspect of some of the things said in other languages, and not for the individual words said by people, because with Sacha, that will be impossible):

1. Sacha's full name: Russian names are always easy to figure out, even if you don't have the person tell you. The first name is the only name that somebody has to be told. But if you know the person's father's name, and their last name the patronymic name and the family name is obvious. "Patronymic" as in "paternal" is very much like a middle name, but is dependent on the father's name. When a child is male, the patronymic will be the father's name with "ovich" or "evich" and "ovna" or "evna" if they are female. So Sacha's Patronymic is Ivanovich meaning his father's name is Ivan. At the same time, Sacha's name that we know him by is also revealed to be a nickname, but this is more to emphasize his gender. In Russian, any name ending in a vowel sound is perceived as female, so at first glance of the name, Sacha would be seen as a girl. Aleksandr, a very popular Russian name is often shortened to either Sasha or Sacha.

2. Taisuke's Aipom saying: Eipam mo ki kara ochiru: Even an Aipom will fall from the tree. Based on a Japanese proverb, or _kotowaza_, "Saru mo ki kara ochiru." Even a monkey will fall from the tree. Means that even the best will fail at some time.

3. Taisuke's secret saying: Kabe ni mimi ari, shouji ni me ari: The walls have ears and the doors have eyes. Another Japanese _kotowaza,_ that means that secrets are not easily kept. Based on the fact that the structure of traditional Japanese homes include paper walls and doors making it easy to see or hear anything in the structure.

4. Arisu and Sacha's patience saying: Terpeniya i trud bsyo peretrut: Patient and work will fray through anything. Similar to the English "Bitter pills may have blessed effects" or "patience is its own reward."

Chapter eight complete. Again, my apologies for the latenesss of this chapter, but you have to understand that as a college student with an overimaginitive mind, sometimes these chapters are hard to write. Especially since I have a policy of never writing less than the chapter before this one, which makes me a little disappointed by the last chapter, as it was five hundred words shorter than the last, but we'll see where this goes. As of this chapter, character credits will only be added when new information will be added about the character.


	10. Falling off a Tower of Lies

Hey guys, it's me again, NightFall, with the next installment of Checkmate. I apologize for not writing over Thanksgiving break, but the idea of being with my family again was a bit more prevelant than this, sorry to those of you who feel differently. Thankfully, after finals this week, it's going to be a near full month of free time, and that means more Checkmate! (whoo!). For those of who aren't aware, for whatever reason, last chapter there was a dorm switch for the six Bishops, with the main character of this sequence, Taisuke Yana, going to the MoonBeam dorm, but not before having a very disturbing dream where she and the other Bishops were placed into some of the more iconic tarot cards. What does this mean for not just her, but for the others who share her position? Find out, enjoy.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON, BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Falling off a Tower of Lies

Tarot cards have been a part of many cultures, in all areas of the world where people claim to have the powers of seeing into the unknown. This has been disputed for its accuracy in the readings for as long as there have been people who call themselves psychics. The fact of the matter is that there are things in life that can't be explained, and for some people, that isn't good enough for them. These are the people who try to find the trap doors in magic acts, the people who attempt to ferret out the lies told by others to protect themselves and their friends, or the people who believe that they have the authority to destroy a person's entire way of thinking. Everyone has an opinion on the things that can't be explained through mere observation and experimentation alone, and no matter what you say, you'll always have an opinion on it. The sad part of life is when things begin to look as though they are real in their application, and it becomes the one thing that traps you in something even more fearful than your lies; the truth.

As the Bishop challenge unfolded in the last story, the six Bishop pieces of Nix Academy were thrust into a position that proved one that would truly challenge their abilities to stay as well behaved people in any situation. Being moved into different dorms by random choice, each of the six Bishops found themselves each in a position where who they are could truly come out as the dorm they entered all tried to welcome them with open arms. As a small recap, Sacha from MoonBeam was moved to PlanetFoundation, Geo from PlanetFoundation was moved to CraterStrike, Candice from CraterStrike was sent to SunLight, Glenn from SunLight was sent to GalaxyStorm, Serena from GalaxyStorm was moved to SuperNova, and then Taisuke from SuperNova was moved to MoonBeam. Each of the six dorms' remaining members all had their own problems in welcoming the Bishops, all for different reasons.

* * *

The SuperNova dorm, even as frigid as it was, was heated up with the tension constraining all of the students living in it, whether they were part of the chess team or not. Much of this was the normal feeling of SuperNova since the Battle Royal when Christian Picklesimer made it publically known that he had no interest in the chess competition, intending to make an entire exchange of all the Royalty pieces. The other part was their new house guest, Serena Robinson from GalaxyStorm, of whom Taisuke made a very cryptic prediction that either she or one of the dorm members would find themselves in very good fortune. As she walked along the hallways, staring at each of the doors as she moved, Serena found no way to relax as an aura of tension filled the other five members behind her, watching her every move.

"You guys need to take a chill pill," Serena said as she slung her bag over her shoulder and walked up to a room with several curious symbols written on the name tag off to the side of the door. "Is this Taisuke's room?" she asked, figuring it was hers from the Japanese writing on the tag. "Is this where I'm staying?" she asked as she opened the door, but was immediately cut off by both Christian and Parthos. "What'd I do?"

"I think they're a little on edge because of you," Rokuro said shyly as he a made a slight bow to Serena who flashed a small smile to him, making him turn away slightly.

"They're making you stay in my room for the next week," Anya said with her arms folded across her chest. "They don't want you learning any secrets."

"Cool," Serena said as she looked down the hall, and found Anya's room. "So, it's like having a little sister, huh?" she asked as Anya snapped slightly, at the comment on her size, prompting her to make a mad dash for Serena.

"I'll make you pay for that, you little..." she began as the rest of her sentence was cut off by a loud beeping sound ringing through the fifth floor, leading up to the Rook of the dorm, Tier with a small device adorned with a large red button, but with Anya's mouth still moving.

"Nice catch, Tier," Christian said as he patted him on the back. "Anya, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You are a trifecta; your age is eighteen, you have the body of a ten year old, and the mouth of a forty year old," he said as Anya turned from Serena, and went after Christian.

"Well, this should be fun," Serena said, walking into Anya's room, to find completely barren of decoration. "Hmm, not exactly a warm and happy feeling to this place," she said turning to a bookcase with several of her school books in the shelves, and a small picture frame on top. "That's interesting," she said as Anya ran into the room, and snatched the picture before Serena could get a good look.

"Let's get one thing straight," she said, holding the picture close to her chest. "You are not to touch anything that you see out in the open without my approval, or you will face my wrath. And, you better not ask any questions about this picture," she finished, placing the picture in a locked drawer.

"Deal," Serena said placing her bag next to bed, unmade with several pillows, sheets, and blankets already set out. "In return, you aren't going to be asking me about my personal life either. Got it?" she asked holding out her hand for Anya to shake.

"Deal," Anya said, taking the hand in her own, and making one thrust up and down.

"Somehow, things just got a little more interesting," Parthos said as he, Rokuro, and Tier were all spying in through the door giving an nod at the same time. "The only question is how can we keep her from learning anything? She'll be here for the whole week, and school is out for the week. That gives her seven uninterrupted days in the dorms to figure out everything about us."

"Not if we figure things out about her first," Christian said from in front of Taisuke's door, fitting a padlock on the doorknob to keep anybody form going in. "There's a simple philosophy that we need to apply, 'If you know both yourself and your enemy, you can win numerous battles without jeopardy.'"

"What's that?" Rokuro asked as Tier looked back at him, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's a passage from a book called _The Art of War_ by a famous tactician named Sun Tzu back about twenty two hundred years," Parthos said as he held up a small book from his pocket. "Christian made me buy this for him, and he memorized some of the more well known passages. It's amazing how many of these can still be applied today, but you know what they say, the past is the key to surviving in the future," he said holding his hand out as though to point to some random place.

"Who says that?" Rokuro asked as Parthos simply stayed in his position with his expression breaking like glass.

"I'll give you some advice if you want to be taken seriously with you whole poetry thing, Parthos," Christian said walking towards the other three chess pieces. "Don't try to make it seem like you're quoting things you made up on the fly," he said patting his shoulder. "Makes you seem less crazy than you already are," he said disappearing into his room with Parthos falling to the ground as though he had been defeated.

"You okay, Parthos?" Rokuro asked as the Knight shot up with a definite fire in his eyes.

"That's it!" he shouted as he looked towards the sky. "The only true way to get my inspiration is to find who I am where I've never looked before! I must know who I am!" he said running towards his room, and slamming the door shut while the remaining two chess pieces were left dumbfounded.

"Do you even want to know what the heck that was about?" Rokuro asked as Tier simply shook his head, not even bothering to face the Pawn. "Okay, well, I'm going to go in my room, and try to make sense of what happened. See ya later," he said as he and Tier went their separate ways with Serena poking her head out of the open doorway.

"This isn't gonna end well for me, is it?" she asked, not expecting an answer.

* * *

Back in Serena's original dorm, GalaxyStorm, things weren't exactly going so well either. The students unaffiliated with the chess competition weren't sure whether it was the fact that they were playing host to a rival team, or if it was the fact that walking in wasn't the person himself, but his Pokémon carrying him instead. For many of the students, it had probably been the first time they had seen a real Galvantula, and the fact that its chattering was followed only by a hissing sound when somebody got to close wasn't helping with their nervousness. As the Galvantula, apparently named Aragog, followed after the other chess pieces of the dorm it looked back at its trainer, and gave its own version of a sigh, quickly trying to catch up with the other pieces.

"All right," Tyson started, seriously talking to Aragog, as the six reached the top floor. "My room is the only vacancy, and since we don't want Glenn stealing any of our secrets. You guys will be staying in my room," he said turning around to see Glenn awake and staring at him in the face with a raised eyebrow.

"Guess you do need to be more observant," Glenn said. "I woke up halfway up those stairs, and had Aragog carry me because of fatigue. Thanks for that, by the way," he said returning the large arachnid to its PokéBall. "In any case, I guess I'll just take my spot in your room," he said giving off a small smile before walking into the room, confusing Tyson, and the other members of the GalaxyStorm team.

"Why does he seem so annoying?" Marlen asked cracking her knuckles.

"Because unlike other people who simply use their words to build themselves up, Glenn actually has the skills to back them up," Tyson explained, holding up a piece of a paper, most likely snatched from his bag. "These scores in academics can rival Sacha's knowledge of legendary Pokémon, but no matter how hard he tries, he doesn't ever seem to be able to beat the Czar."

"What's more," Helen said, holding up her usual tea cup. "Sacha doesn't even consider Glenn worth the time it would take to have a decent debate about the subject; unlike he does with that guy Geo."

"So, what I'm getting from this is that Glenn hates losing?" Ike asked, trying to make sense of the conversation. "Or does he just hate losing to Sacha?"

"There's not a person at this school that doesn't hate losing to Sacha," Zero answered. "But I don't think that Glenn hates losing as much as the feeling of preparing all that time for a test, or some other kind of ranked competition, and finishing as second best. It's never a good feeling when you see that you have to work twice as hard just to be on par with somebody who doesn't have to work as hard."

"It's not that," Glenn said from the other side of the door, as he opened it, startling the others. "I just don't like being second best to anyone. Truth be told, if they don't have to try as hard, that just makes me see them as a challenge. If there was anybody that I would respect as an authority on any subject, Sacha would be my number my number one rival in mythology."

"And he doesn't so much as give you a sideways glance," Marlen said, trying to twist his words. "I knew that guy was condescending."

"If anything, I try even less than Sacha," Glenn said leaning against the wall with a small smile on his face. "You have to understand that when that guy came along, nobody could understand him, and now he's the top of the class. I respect Sacha as a person, it's too bad you can't see what the Bishops see about each other," he said pushing off of the wall, and began to walk down the staircase while waving goodbye.

Turning to face Marlen, the other members of GalaxyStorm were nearly frightened by her face, as it began twitching wildly out of agitation, resulting in her letting out a large shout to vent her anger. The other four members watched her walk back to her room, where she slammed the door as hard as she could with a loud grunt of frustration with the others looking at each other, and letting out a large, raucous laughter before following after Glenn.

"That guy's all right," Tyson said. "And all my life, I thought it was just MoonBeam folks that pushed her buttons."

"I wonder what it would be like if Glenn actually did get that number one spot he wanted," Ike said as he looked down the staircase, barely seeing the corner of Glenn's blazer disappear down the flight. "Do you think he'd be happy?"

"He'd be bored," Zero said, walking in front of the rest of the group with his arms stretched back behind his head, with the others looking at him waiting for an answer. "If he did actually become number one, there would be no more motivation for him to try because there wouldn't be a pinnacle for him to reach anymore."

"He's right, human thoughts are often very fragile, and are broken by the slightest change in what happens," Tyson said, fully agreeing with Zero. "If Glenn were to actually achieve his goal of getting the number one spot, he would find himself in a situation where his very way of thinking would be broken, and he'd have to find some new kind of way of life to keep going."

* * *

Towards Glenn's original dorm of SunLight, much of the dorm was in an uproar with Candice having joined the place, and the other chess pieces trying to keep her contained. As she ran through the dorm, laughing like it was some sort of game, she noticed herself cornered within fifteen minutes of her beginning to run. She turned around with a smile as she could see four of the SunLight dorm team members with the exception of the Pawn, Mike. Each of them seemed to be already tired as she stayed standing, swaying forward and back as though to feign innocence.

"Okay," Taiyou started, panting heavily as she struggled to stay up. "It's about time...you start to calm down. It's almost nine, and that's when curfew is."

"I don't think it's really gonna matter, one way or the other to her," Lina whispered as Candice gave another smile, and began walking towards them, putting them all on guard. "Be careful," she said to other two with them, who both nodded. "She'll maul you like an Ursaring on steroids, if you make any sudden movements."

"Por ahi!" she shouted as she pointed off in one direction, making the others look off in the same direction while a definite gleam was seen in her eyes. "Chance," she said making a mad dash away, to keep the game alive.

"Hey! Hold it right there!" Melissa shouted as the others followed after her.

"I ain't holding nothing!" Candice shouted back, looking at the four of them, while sticking out her tongue. As she turned around to watch where she was going, she was suddenly met by the broad side of a door being swung open, knocking her to the ground, after spinning in place for a few seconds. "Ay caramba..." she said before falling to the ground.

Poking his head out the other side of the door, Mike looked down at the dazed Bishop, and then back up at his teammates who were equally as surprised by the timing. In his eyes, Taiyou could definitely see the hint of sleep still in them as though he had just woken up from the noise. As he began to close the door, Taiyou tried to make a dash for the door, catching the knob, making the Pawn look at her expectantly.

"Um, thanks for helping with that," Taiyou said timidly, trying to get Mike to talk back. "Did we wake you up?" she asked with Mike just nodding. "Sorry, we'll get Candice to apologize later, okay?" she asked as Mike let out a small sigh before closing the door behind him.

"You should just stop trying," Austin said grabbing Candice by the collar of her shirt, and dragging her behind him. "Mike's never gonna talk to anyone until he's ready," he explained, walking past Taiyou, and slowly placing the unconscious Bishop into a room marked with the last name Bryant on the door.

"Hey, why are we placing her in my room?" Melissa asked as she began walking towards her room.

"We can't leave her alone, she might start snooping around, and there aren't any other rooms with a girl already living in it," Taiyou explained as she and Lina began walking to their room, and Austin moving to his.

"Put her in Mike's room," Melissa suggested as the other three simply stopped in their tracks, and turned around in unison to give her a questioning look. "What? If she can get him to at least say one word, that'd be more than what we've been trying to do for the past month and a half," she explained as Austin let out an exasperated sigh, while turning back around.

"Hmm," Taiyou voiced with Austin stopping again. "Now that you mention it..." she said, seriously accepting the idea.

"You do realize that when she gets Mike to talk, the words coming out of his mouth aren't exactly going to be very nice for the censors," Lina stated as Austin nodded in agreement. "On the other hand," she started with Austin leaning himself against the wall with the top of his head holding him up. "She did say something good about him when she came here."

"She said, 'poco lindo,'" Austin said. "I didn't take a whole heck of a lot of Spanish, but I know that means she thinks he's cute," he explained as the three girls looked at each other, all with mischievous grins. "Why did I have to open my big mouth?" he asked, disappearing into his room as the other three all gripped onto Candice, and placed her inside Mike's room, directly across the hall.

As the three left, Austin just looked out from a small crack in his door, rolling his eyes at the situation before closing the door behind him. Turning on the dim lamp in his room, he looked at everything laying before him, his PokéBall, and his violin, wondering if there was anything like what he owned in the same room as Mike. He walked to his violin, and just opened the case, staring at the polished wood. Not so much as running his hands on it, Austin closed his eyes, letting a smooth melody dance in his mind that made him look back out the crack of his door at the passage to Mike's room left slightly ajar.

_"People only treasure what is precious to them,"_ he said to himself, closing his door, and locking the clips of his violin case. _"But what is precious to us is rarely ever something that can be seen with our eyes, nor felt with our hands, nor heard by our ears. More, it's something that gives us a feeling that nothing else has ever been able to give us; a feeling in our hearts is more of an accurate description," _he continued as he looked at a small picture of him and his sister, Violet. _"And no matter what happens, if you truly treasure something, that feeling will never disappear. Whatever it is that Mike treasures, it couldn't be one of us. He feels more strongly about what can no longer be felt, and no longer be experienced."_

* * *

Candice's original dorm, CraterStrike, was in a much less tense of an attitude as Geo was merely surrounded on all sides by other members of the dorm curious about the PlanetFoundation dorm, whether they were part of the chess team or not. He simply shifted his eyes from side to side to see who exactly was staring at him, and relaxed his shoulders with a sigh when he saw the door to the dorm open. He followed the two figures with his eyes, and watched as Jared sent the other students away, leaving Jackie, Chris, Adrian, and Olivia watching him. Behind Jared was the teacher who had been assigned as the CraterStrike head teacher, Boutros.

"My apologies for making you put me up like this," Geo said with a bow as Boutros returned it. "I must say that it is an honor to meet with you Mr. Girish."

"Boutros will do," the man said as he sat directly in front of Geo, studying his body from head to toe. "You are far more impressive in the body than I had originally thought, but in my belief, I am never to see a common man as an impressive subject. I do apologize for my ignorance."

"You were merely following the belief you've held on to throughout your life," Geo reassured as he leaned back against the wall. "I cannot ask you to go against it. It's what makes you and Sacha so alike."

"Sacha is an Orthodox, isn't he?" Boutros asked as Geo nodded. "It would explain his ability with the legends of old. The Orthodox church is one of high regard in his country, is it not?" he asked.

"Sacha is one of the most faithful people I've ever seen," Geo said as the other people still in the room looked at each other with questioning faces. "He believes firmly in the idea that a single figure created our world, and that he is the sole controller of Arceus. Beliefs such as that are common in the world of Pokémon archeologists, who use what they are taught to influence the interpretation of their findings."

"Giving the two of you plenty to talk about in your conversations," Boutros said with a chuckle. "I am sorry, but there is something I must attend to, I do hope you will find yourself comfortable in the CraterStrike dorm."

"As do I, thank you for your hospitality," Geo said as the teacher left the room, with the other chess pieces looking at him impressed.

"Not bad, talking to him like that," Jackie said, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as the Bishop just chuckled. "Now are you really that polite, or do you just put on your best behavior for people like that?"

"Unless it's with Sacha, I'm pretty much always like this," Geo admitted as he stood up, and stuffed his hands into his pockets before walking towards the staircase off to the right side of the CraterStrike lobby. "I can't tell you how many times people have been confused by our friendship."

"That's what I'm wondering," Olivia said walking up next to him. "How did you become friends with him?"

"It's because I didn't let the language barrier come between us," Geo said, looking back on the day when Sacha transferred in. "The teacher had introduced him to us, and asked Sacha to write down his name. Acting on instinct, Sacha wrote his name in Russian," he said writing the letters in the air for Olivia and the others to see. "The Russian, or Cyrillic, alphabet is pretty close to basic Romanized letters, but with several of them having different sounds. Sacha's name would normally be spelled with an English 'C' instead of an 'S', and then the two 'ah' sounds would be written as 'A,' but the 'ch' sound is written much like a rounded four numeral. Little did I know that it was a nickname from Aleksander.

"Anyway, none of the other students, even from his own dorm would talk to him because of the language barrier, and it was obvious to anyone that he was pretty high strung," Geo explained. "So I just started talking to him actually. You know, wave to him in the hallways, sit next to him at lunch, and pretty soon, before I knew it, he started doing the same things. Arisu and Fiona have always been a little thankful that he became friends with me, and are always looking for ways to make it up to me."

"You know you could get a lot of stuff from either of them," Olivia said. "Fiona's family is loaded, and Arisu, well her family just kinda does it all."

"Maybe," Geo said reaching the top floor, letting the other team members move in front of him. "I won't lie, I started doing it because I felt I had to. You know, do something good, and feel good. But after a while, I started to find that Sacha was a genius in legendary interpretation; putting things on the table that most historians are considering. Being friends with him helped to have the kind of person you can just sit down and have a conversation with, and not expect any more out of the other."

Jared motioned to Adrian who nodded, and motioned for Geo to follow him into his room. As he entered his room, Geo found himself in a room that almost made him recoil back in surprise. On every part of the wall was something different, normally being pinned in the style of a large essay, at least ten printed pages in length. Adrian fell limp as he swung onto his bed, and just looked with amusement at Geo's amazement.

"You may be friends with the best historian in the school," Adrian began as he reached underneath his bed to grab an unfinished essay he was currently writing. "But in terms of the Pawns; there's no other with the wandering mind of a genius, if I do say so myself," he said as Geo simply chuckled. "Everything that I've ever thought about, felt, said; it was written down for all my thoughts on it. There's nothing that I've ever seen that hasn't enthralled me to know."

"You're not a subtle guy, are you?" Geo asked as he removed one of the pins from the wall, and began reading through one of the essays. "This is brilliant, though," he admitted, completely engulfed in the reading, with something snapping in his head. "Ever thought about Triple-S?" he asked suddenly as Adrian looked up slowly from his work, and gave a large breath to control himself.

"I've thought about them, yes," he admitted, walking towards a locked desk. "There are at least twenty people from this dorm alone that are in the syndicate, and at the same time, there are people who are known to not take me as a serious threat. Let's face it, I'm a scatter-brain. I wrote this after listening to Chris about the attack made by them, and I've kept it locked up ever since. Not even my teammates know it's in here, so put it back when you're done," he said handing the paper to Geo, who nodded, beginning to read through it.

* * *

Geo's old dorm was in a state where nobody was sure what anyone was doing; between George's camera snapping pictures, Danielle posing for them around a seated Sacha, Katherine and Hibiki trying to hold in their own emotions, whatever they may be, and Amelia just watching the scene slightly confused. Sacha's eyes were as dead as they had always been, and as far as he knew, this was no different than the dorm he left, except that there was no one in the dorm to talk with. As soon as the Knight of the dorm finished his photo-shoot, Danielle stood up from one of her poses, and walked back to her room.

"How was that, Sacha?" Danielle asked from behind her door. "First time that's ever happened to you, right?"

"Fiona do that once," Sacha said, walking past her door while loosening up his tie. "Although she prefer more contact with body."

"My body isn't something that can be won just like that, Sacha," Danielle said as she stepped out of her room with a confident smile on her face. "This is to get back a little against Fiona for having Arisu all to herself. We give her these pictures, she blows a gasket, and it'll be a hoot," she said, turning around to face Sacha, but was met by his Lampent instead.

"I agree to sit while you take picture," Sacha said slightly angered. "I no permit you to hurt Fiona," he said as Lampent floated behind him with Danielle panting out of slight fear. "I no care of cost for action, Fiona and all of MoonBeam is friend, and if friend is threaten, I attack."

As Sacha disappeared into one of the farther doors at the end of hall, Danielle found herself amazed, and turned to face the other members of her dorm who all were decorated with their own looks. Hibiki was confused, George was impressed, Amelia was trying to hold back her laughter, and Katherine was in a near state of ecstasy. As she walked by the Knight, she whispered something to him, which made him nod and follow after Sacha.

"What's George doing?" Amelia asked.

"Sacha is slowly becoming a little bit more human, and I'd like to test just how much more human he's becoming," Danielle said. "If he's willing to stick his neck out for a woman like that, there's something else he's hiding."

"Makes you wonder who the really leader of this dorm is, huh?" Hibiki said to the Pawn who nodded, while receiving a twitch from Danielle who turned around in anger. "Um, can we say that that was a mistake to say in your presence."

"Oh, it was a mistake alright," she said cracking her knuckles with Amelia and Katherine shrinking away into the corner. "The last one you'll ever make," she said making a large pounce onto Hibiki, forcing his arm behind his back, and his opposite leg to the same point.

"For someone like him, it'd be more worth it if she were lying on him, don't you think?" Amelia asked with Katherine nodding. "What is with Sacha anyway? I always thought that he didn't like Fiona that way. I get that he still needs her as a control, but aside from that, what's wrong with a little prank?"

"Like Danielle said," Katherine said with a loud sigh heaving from her breath. "Sacha is starting to become the human we all know he is, but as it stands the people he cares most for are Fiona and Arisu. If anyone were to do something that he thought would hurt them, he would be as protective as any of the Rooks."

"Is that why you like him?" Danielle asked, clapping her hands free of the dust from wrestling with Hibiki, who was left twitching pathetically on the ground. "Or do you actually find him good looking?" she asked as Katherine's face lit up in a bright red color.

"W-Whoever said anything about me liking him?" she asked, turning around to hide her blush with the result turning into a mad dash into her room, and the other two following after her.

"Apparently, I've been reduced to a punching bag," Hibiki said, quickly flipping to his feet, and walking towards the room that Sacha had disappeared into.

Inside the room, he found both Sacha and George standing up, and facing each other, both of their eyes challenging each other by the mere sight of each other. Hibiki slowly backed away from the door to watch what would happen, and found himself amazed when he found that George had moved behind Sacha within a fraction of the next second while his hand rested on his wooden sword. Removing his hand, George made a confident look at Sacha who still remained still in his stance.

"Did I miss something here?" Hibiki asked as George finally noticed the Rook.

"Just a little challenge," George answered. "He said that if I could attack him with this sword, then he would battle me tonight. As it stands, it appears as though I won our wager."

"Da," Sacha said, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal a long red mark across his abdomen with the same width of the weapon George carried. "We battle after bath," he said, grabbing several toiletries in a small bucket, and walking to the bathing hall.

"Hey, male bonding time," George said grabbing both two buckets, and Hibiki. "This is definitely gonna help me in the long run, you know."

"How do you mean?" Hibiki asked. "Nobody but Arisu can speak to him in his language, and even if we could, he speaks it so fluently, it starts to dwell into the land of colloquial, and formal speech is hard enough to learn."

"Not if we can analyze it thoroughly," George whispered to his teammate. "I plan to record his commands, and then dissect them to their root, and then decipher everything he says. It's the beauty of Russian; as a phonetic language, the sound you here is the sound you write."

"Aside from that, how do you think the other members of MoonBeam are doing right now?" Hibiki asked, walking without the coaxing of the Knight. "When they left, Fiona was in a near state of hysteria because of where Sacha was going. How do you think they're holding up?"

"If I had to guess," George started before entering the locker room before the bathing area. "I'd say they're waiting for something before they act. I mean, during the training that all the teams went through before the school year started, there were times that Sacha and Fiona were separated, and in the end they both became stronger by that isolation from each other."

"Either that, or Fiona just got more beautiful," Hibiki said as he turned around to see George giving him a questioning look. "Probably not a good thing to say while the sworn enemy of said person is within the same hundred mile radius, huh?" he asked as George silently nodded. "Well, as MoonBeam always does, let's prepare for our new prospects against the other teams," he finished as the two entered the large bath area.

* * *

Sacha's dorm, MoonBeam was in the least tense atmosphere even with the most mysterious Bishop in the same room as their newest member, Akemi. After her reading of Akemi, and an accidental slip of tongue, her mind had been focused on a dream that had been shown to her after a reading for her dorm's king.

Sitting alone in Akemi's room, Taisuke just scanned over her tarot cards, and kept her eyes fixed on the card depicting two figures falling from a spiral construct called, "The Tower." As she just kept staring at the card, running her fingers over it, she felt a sudden sting of pain in her head that made her recoil backwards against the already opening door. As she fell back against the doorway, Taisuke instead found herself, resting against the lap of another person, and after looking up, she could see Arisu's kind eyes gleaming at her.

"Something about the cards?" she asked as Taisuke lifted herself up, and piled up her deck solemnly. "Akemi told us that you had a weird reading when you were alone, and I'd just like to talk about it, if you don't mind."

"What do you want from me?" Taisuke asked, as she sat at the table, shuffling her cards. "Something specific about me, or something about yourself?"

"Let's start simple," Arisu said, sitting across from the Bishop, and staring at the cards. "Do the others in this dorm really hate my cooking or are they just lucky with all of the sudden saves from people like Danielle or that pizza guy?"

"Interesting question, but okay," Taisuke said, flipping over the first card. "Hmm," she said, staring down at the card, and then froze as she saw The Tower staring her in the face again, but noticed it upside down, making her breathe out in relief. "The Tower in the past position; a lie still remains as to how they feel about your cuisine, and it is meant to protect you."

"So they hate it?" she asked as Taisuke shuffled through her deck again, and looked away. "Next question: is this lie really pertaining to me?" she asked as Taisuke placed her hands back on the deck, and flipped over the top card, finding the Tower again.

_"Why is this happening?"_ she asked as Arisu looked at her confused. _"Why does this card vex me so much? This is supposed to be about Arisu,"_ she finished before casting all of the cards of the table in a fit of near rage that left Arisu silent, but still calm about the situation. _"What's wrong with me?" _continued to ask herself, looking at the King in front of her, and then throwing her hands into her face.

"It must be hard for somebody in your position," Arisu said, standing up with her arms folded across her chest. "In your position, it would seem as though that there are things you're not willing to accept."

"What are you talking about?" Taisuke asked, walking solemnly towards the tossed mass of cards towards the right wall of the room. "Like you know anything about what I lived like for so long."

"I don't know," Arisu replied, simply walking around the room to help gather the long cards. "Nobody is really all that different; we may all live different lives, but in the end, we came into this world through the combined love of our mother and father, and we all return to the dust when death comes to claim us. That's what The Tower is about, right?" she asked as Taisuke quickly froze in place at the very mention of the specific card. "This is where I think that even people like Sacha best you."

"I already know that Sacha is superior to me in almost every aspect," Taisuke admitted. "And I know that I have no right to say it, but if it were between any of the Bishops in this current year, anybody would pick him, or any of the others over me," she said, suddenly feeling a sharp pain across her cheek, with Arisu staring down at her, her arm extending.

"There's not a day that goes by that Christian doesn't speak of you as though you were the heart and soul of his team," Arisu said, angered at the low esteem that Taisuke was currently holding in herself. "Christian and Anya are simply the icons of that team, and neither are well liked because of the battle Royal. That Parthos guy is nothing more than a hopeless poet, Rokuro is no more than the new guy to the school, and Tier is too quiet to have much of a verbal effect on the rest of the team."

"So where does that leave me?" Taisuke asked as Arisu leaned against the wall, facing the opposite direction from the Bishop.

"Without you, Christian doesn't have anybody to talk to," Arisu said plainly. "There aren't a lot of things that Christian actually enjoys doing. When he was a kid, training his Pokémon was his only form of motivation to not slip into the same depression that Sacha used to be in. If there was anything that Christian loved more than that, it was when he was able to talk to somebody that wasn't interested in him romantically. I think that people really don't understand how important the Bishop position really is."

"We're chosen because of a behavioral record," Taisuke said as Arisu just gave a small smile.

"As Bishops, ever part of the official recording for any part of the competition that goes on around here is up to the Bishops," Arisu explained. "Whenever something wrong in the rooming situation is brought up, the Bishops are the ones people go to for answers. When there's an event being held at the dorm where the chess team is involved, the Bishop is the one counted on to make sure everything runs smoothly. All the pieces have their place, but the Bishop is the one that has some of the most responsibilities. Lying about who you are isn't odd for the position, and is something expected. Chances are you don't even know half of the stuff that your own teammates are hiding from you right now."

"But if I tell people the truth, what will they think of me at that point?" Taisuke asked as Arisu found herself at a loss for words at the question. "I guess there are some things that even psychics can't know," she said, depressively, receiving another slap from Arisu across her face. "Will you stop it!" she shouted, annoyed by the continued assaults.

"Do you really think that your team would think any less of you for hiding something from them?" Arisu asked as Taisuke simply stared at her confused. "Think about how that secret would actually make it so that the rest of your team would actually hate you for it," she said firmly, before slamming the door shut behind her.

"_Even though she says that,"_ Taisuke said, just staring at the ceiling, falling back onto the floor. _"__What secret should she be keeping that could ever match what I've been hiding from all my friends for ten long years?" _she asked as she sat up, and looked at one of the pictures on Akemi's dresser. _"__We have pictures like this back at SuperNova,"_ she noticed, seeing the entirety of the MoonBeam in the picture, most likely at the beach given the surroundings. _"__In the summer, we found out who would be the members of each of the teams, and we all went to some place to train. I remember it being the most awkward time of our lives because none of us had been members of the team beforehand, and Christian was against it from the start. But when we began, we all posed for that one picture, and we all still have them in our rooms,"_ she finished, looking at the door that had just recently been closed.

* * *

Back in Arisu's room, all of the other members had been waiting in there for about a half an hour, when they noticed Taisuke walk in with a bit more of a peaceful look on her face. Nevertheless, the nervousness on her face was more apparent than ever as the team just gave her that inviting look that obviously had more than one meaning behind it. She smiled back at them, and sat down next to Arisu at the long table.

"Seems like Sacha made us some food for the first night he would be gone," Fiona said from the kitchen area. "Taisuke, how do you feel about borscht?" she asked as the Bishop looked at the others confused.

"Sacha and Arisu are the only ones willing to do actually cooking for us all the time," Devon explained. "And with Sacha, it's also some sort of ethnic dish from his home area. I say this, even though I wasn't too thrilled about eating something that I couldn't pronounce, it was probably the best decision in terms of culinary experience I ever made."

"Does Sacha really do that much for you guys?" Taisuke asked. "He just doesn't seem like the type. I mean, in that picture of you guys at the beach, he was the only one not smiling."

"That's because Fiona got a hold of him," Donato said plainly receiving some form of laughter from everyone, minus the butt of the joke. "Nah, he's just not the kind of guy who shows a smile. A lot of people are like that, but he's really not the subject of tonight's meal, is it?" he asked as Taisuke backed up in her chair only slightly. "What's the story behind the cold psychic, Taisuke Yana?" he asked reaching his hand across the table to touch her cheek.

"Look," Taisuke began, gripping onto Donato's wrist. "But don't touch," she finished, twisting his wrist in a near full rotation, and slamming it against the table. "I hate playboys like you," she said, with the word "playboy" striking Donato in the heart like an arrow, knocking him out of his seat, and into a fetal position on the floor.

"Not bad," Akemi said. "Not a lot of people who can fight against the charm Donato has. You're kind of like all the guys that can resist Fiona."

"The only difference is that I fight back," Taisuke said. "It's why I'm destined to be alone."

"Why not go for Sacha?" Devon suggested as three pairs of hands slammed on the table at the same time with Taisuke, Fiona, and Arisu all looking at him angrily for the suggestion, most likely for different reasons. "Well, you both speak different languages when you battle, and you're pretty in tune with more supernatural forces with it comes to pokémon."

"Sacha is pretty central here in MoonBeam, isn't he?" Taisuke asked as Arisu began to think of it. "I mean, he's the one who cooks these amazing meals, he does most of the administrative work, he has some of the most secrets among you, and he's the one that people could really notice out of a crowd."

"Actually, the dorm put out a poll a while back for some kind of popularity contest," Arisu explained. "Surprisingly enough, twenty percent of the dorm went with me, another twenty went to Devon, seventeen for both Akemi and Sacha, fourteen percent when it came to Donato, and then the last eight percent was for Fiona."

"Which I still say was rigged against me," Fiona said in rebuttal, ladling the Russian soup into all six bowls around the table. "When asked, people said it was because of my so-called 'sadistic' personality. I'm not like that at all."

"I don't know, when you first met Sacha who were the one that wanted to keep him in your dorm on the spot," Devon said with a chuckle, receiving a definite death glare from his Queen. "I hope you know that those looks don't scare me," he said sitting back in his chair, draining the entirety of his food within seconds. "Anyway, you've just always been the kind of person that does whatever she has to, to get what she wants."

"Sacha is really important to you people, isn't he?" Taisuke said as all five members nodded once, including Donato who was still left on the floor. "Well then, itadakimasu!" she said with a sudden clap, and began to eat her food.

* * *

After having eaten dinner, Taisuke was among the first to leave the room, and slowly made her way back into Akemi's room. Upon entering the room, she saw Akemi flipping one of the tarot cards from her deck in between her fingers, flashing it to Taisuke who looked at it distraught. Quickly taking the card from her, Taisuke couldn't keep her eyes off of the Tower card as it seemed as though it were following her around like a child follows its parents even after growing up.

"That card is warmer than the rest," Akemi said as Taisuke turned around, surprised. "It means that you were holding it, or coming across it more often than the others. You see, I wasn't picked for this team because of my Rotom, but because of my skills of perception. I used to stalk a lot of cute guys in junior high, and it made me a little crazy, so my parents sent me here in desperation to try and get it fixed."

"Photographic memory, heightened senses, and the same kind of battling ability that your teammates have," Taisuke said, putting the card back in her deck. "You belong in MoonBeam; a dorm where everybody seems to be perfect with their own quirks that make them still seem human."

"You know, just because this dorm has won for fifteen years in a row, doesn't mean that we'll continue in that trend," Akemi explained. "Arisu always tells me that no matter what happens, we'll always have to keep in mind that we're just human, and that we're no more special than anyone else in this competition. So far we have a shadow boxer, a strategist who can think moves ahead, a psychic," she said pointing to Taisuke. "And a whole mess of other people who are all unique in their own way. This is why I'm glad that your King made that promise to get rid of Triple-S; truth be told, it makes me feel safe."

"You give him too much credit," Taisuke said. "Christian has made no progress in keeping that promise to us, and I don't even think he was too serious about it. I think he just said that to make us feel better."

Directly outside the door, Devon and Donato both were listening to the conversation behind the wood with cups against their ears. They moved the cups all around the door, trying to find the direct spot where the conversation was most audible, and eventually both made an expression of triumph upon finding it, but found that they had both found it at the same time.

"Back off, pretty boy," Devon whispered, trying to move Donato out of the way, by pushing him to the side. "I found this place first."

"Nice try, psycho," Donato whispered back, making the same pushing motion against the Knight. "It was me you found it."

"I think it was neither of you," a feminine voice said as both of them froze in place, turning around slowly to see Arisu and Fiona staring at both of them evilly.

"Let's talk about this," Donato pleaded, seeing Arisu cracking her knuckles.

"Let's not," she said as the rest of the experience of what happened to them is left to the imagination.

Back in the room, Akemi and Taisuke both turned at the sound of the door opening, and Arisu and Fiona both walking in, leaving the near mangles corpses of their teammates behind them. As Arisu clapped her hands free of the dust accumulated from beating her fellow members, she sat down in between the two girls with Fiona taking a place across from them.

"Fiona has a question for you, Taisuke," Arisu explained as the Queen nodded.

"Okay," Taisuke said, still terrified to use the deck of tarot cards, based on what had been happening to her and the Tower card. "What's your question?"

"My grandmother is very sick," Fiona explained as the other members fell silent around her, even those outside of the door. "My family has the money to give her the proper operation, but they've distanced themselves from her years ago, and don't even know about her situation. I want to know if it's possible that they'll retain the money for the operation."

"I see," Taisuke said, shuffling through the deck, and cutting the deck once before flipping the top card. "I see," she said, looking down at the card, depicting a large figure, standing in between two pillars holding a scale in one hand, and a sword in the other, with its eyes covered by a blindfold. "Justice. While justice itself is blind, it's always fair. Giving people what they deserve. This can be read one of two ways in your predicament. First, your parents will come to realization that they have a duty to fulfill, and will help to save your grandmother, or the sins your grandmother committed will finally be weighed against her, and it will mean her end."

"Is there anything else that can be done about it?" Fiona asked desperately.

"Let's see," she said, flipping the next card over, and smiling out of relief by not seeing the Tower card. "The Temperance," she said, showing the card she had originally identified with Arisu. "There is the chance that somebody will take the risk, and help your grandmother, even if your parents will not. Let me ask you a question," she said as Arisu looked down at her, smiling. "Is she important to you."

"You know, I may flirt with a lot of guys, may not look at myself as a good person all the time, and I know I can be a little pushy at times," Fiona admitted as the others in the room all gave the same look that read, "a little?" "But my grandmother was really the person who raised me. My parents didn't want to be bothered with raising a child, and in the end, it was just one of those situations where that if I had to die to save her, I would gladly do it many times over."

"I see," Taisuke said, packing up her cards, and watching everyone leave the room to help comfort their Queen, most likely. _"__There's more of a detailed response to the reading of the Temperance. It's about faith, primarily, and the one asking the questions must have faith in order for something to succeed. In the story of the tarot, the Fool continues to search for the spirituality he desires so much, and by the time he meets an angel, he is amazed at the process of mixing fire and water. All forms of beliefs are based on the simple idea of faith; not having to see it to believe. I know this, Sacha knows this, and so many others know this as well, and I think I may finally know if who I am is such a big deal to everyone else."_

* * *

Back in their room, Arisu, Fiona, Akemi, Donato, and Devon all sat around the table in the center as Arisu moved a white bishop piece on a chess board to a position in between all of their respective pieces.

"Do you think she'll buy it?" Fiona asked. "You know she can read emotions."

"So can any love-struck puppy you manage to find," Arisu said in response. "Besides it's not like it's completely inaccurate. Your grandmother was cut off from your family shortly after you came to the academy, and her income from her insurance company isn't going to help her if she does get sick. If this goes over well, we may be able to help Taisuke more than she'll know."

"Why do we want to help her again?" Akemi asked. "Not that it's a bad idea or anything, but don't you think it's just a little screwy to help our enemy."

"Taisuke is the only person capable of acting as a control for Christian, and they're both nice people," Arisu explained. "There's something very specific I want to have happen with this challenge while we're without Sacha, and that's make sure that anyone we can help is helped at all cost."

"Besides, as it stands, Taisuke is currently a MoonBeam member, and if we can help out our own, we should do it," Donato explained as Akemi nodded out of understanding.

* * *

Back in the PlanetFoundation dorm, Sacha sat far off in the corner of the bathing hall, the majority of his body dunked in the water, only the top half of his head not submerged. As he let out a relaxed breath through his nose, he raised his head out of the water as the other two male members of the dorm he was staying in were trying to keep their composure under the temperature of the water.

"This guy is a freak," Hibiki said, panting between each word. "He's been in there like that for forty five minutes. You sure that you're gonna be able to beat him like this?" he asked to the Knight, George, but already finding him unconscious in the water. "George!" he shouted out of concern, and began slapping him across the face to try and get him to wake up. "Dude, wake up, you'll die of heat exhaustion!"

"I can go a little bit more," George said confidently, but weakly as he tried to hold up his fist, and then noticed that Sacha was getting out of the water. "Hah! I beat you. Now where you going?" he asked, trying to rub the victory in his face.

"To sauna," Sacha said plainly as both of the male members of the dorm looked at each other, about ready to burst into tears out of fear. "You no have to come in, if you no want to."

"You think I'd back down from a challenge with you?" George said, walking over to the Bishop weakly. "I welcome it!" he declared, pointing his finger at him, but suddenly feeling faint from the sudden movement, and then fell back into the water.

"I win," Sacha said plainly. "I no have to battle you now. Was our deal, no?" he asked as he walked into the locker room, and began to dressed within.

"Seriously, you two, who has a fight to decide whether you battle or not, but seeing who ahs the higher tolerance to heat?" Hibiki asked, dragging George out of the water, and then pulling him into the locker room with him. "I mean, come on, Sacha, you train a fire type, that was a little unfair."

"He attack me with sword," Sacha said. "That his specialty. He no can handle mine, I no have to battle."

Walking back through the main hall of the PlanetFoundation dorm, Sacha helped to carry George back into his room, and place him on his bed, so he could cool off with the windows being propped open. Taking a seat on Geo's desk, Hibiki couldn't help but let his eyes follow Sacha as he sent out his Lampent, and had it activate a Will O Wisp.

"Is reading light," Sacha said, as he drew a large book from inside his main back, and turned to one of the bent corners of the pages, and began to read through the pages.

Hibiki discreetly walked towards the bed where Sacha was seated and noticed the entirety of the book was written in his language, not surprising to him, but at the same time, wasn't something he had hoped to see.

"So, you got anybody you like back home, Sach?" he asked, giving Sacha a nickname, beyond his normal one. "You know, a little _babushka_ at home you like to see all the time?"

"Babushka is word for grandmother," Sacha said as Hibiki's face turned a bright red color. "English corrupt original word, and now it used for term of endearment. Makes no sense," he said. "If you mean girlfriend as in 'lyubimaya debushka,' I no have one."

"What about Kathy?" Hibiki asked.

"She nice, but I no think she like me that way," Sacha said, putting his book away, hearing a knock at the door.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Hibiki said quietly.

"Da?" Sacha asked as he opened the door, and looked downward to see Taisuke staring at him with a gentle look on her face.

"Sacha Tatarinov," she started. "As current Bishop for MoonBeam, I challenge you to a battle right now!" she declared as Sacha looked at her with the same straight look as always, leaving Hibiki wondering what was going on around him…again.

* * *

Cultural Notes:

_ The Art of War:_ A real book by the tactician Sun Tzu, the book is a collection of helpful virtues to live by when one the battlefield, and is still considered by many different forms of organizations, not limited to the military. Used in the NFL, soccer (football), and even in many Japanese Companies, the books lessons have found their way throughout the history of everything.

2. Sacha's Religion: Russian Orthodox is the majority religion in Russia today, with 41% of the population identifying with it. A form of Christianity that is under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow, and in communion with other Eastern Orthodox Churches, Russian Orthodox, when looked at very briefly, is a form of Christianity and Catholicism, with the Patriarch acting as the head of the church, but does not have direct authority when it comes to matters pertaining to faith.

3. Past Position: During the reading that Taisuke did for Arisu, she talked about the past position of a card. Like trading cards, tarot cards are viewed either right side up, or upside down, and the meaning of it does change in this case. Unlike in regular cards that can be viewed both ways, a tarot card drawn upside down indicates a completely other meaning entirely.

4. Taisuke's Saying: Before Taisuke began eating, she said, _"__itadakimasu,"_ which translates from Japanese to, "I will receive." While a basic verb form, it's one of the most well used in the language because it is expected of anyone dining to say it before the meal, to show respect for the person who made it. In the same way, it is also expected to say _"__gochisousamadeshita," _or _"__gochisousama"_ after eating, which means "it was a feast." Please note, once you have said this, you are expected to not eat any more of the meal.

5. Hot Spring Bathing: Many larger dwellings in Japan, usually hotels are famous for their hot springs that are used for bathing. In reality, you aren't supposed to bathe in the large hot spring, and instead, there are separate showers for cleaning your body, and then the large bathing area is for relaxing afterwards. What Sacha may have been doing while inside the hot spring is a common practice of counting to one hundred while being nearly completely soaked up by the water. Very few can make it because of the temperature, but obviously training a fire type has paid off.

* * *

Chapter nine complete. Obviously, a little less action as I'm still trying to build it up, but I think I did pretty good, especially since this arch is supposed to be focusing on Taisuke. Within these next few chapters, the other Bishops, and I'm going to get the Pawns in there, talked about a bit more in depth, after which I plan to move onto the Knights, and then a bit more with Pawns, and who knows? Maybe I can really get going with the individual pieces, because I have something really good planned for the Rook in SuperNova. But that'll be later.


	11. Finding Hope

Hey guys, it's me again, your friendly neighborhood NightFall. And here I am with the next installment of Checkmate. Sorry for not updating in forever, but hopefully you'll all like what I'm giving you with this next chapter, other than that, there's nothing I can offer you. As a little recap, in case some of you aren't aware; on the first night of the Bishop challenge where the Bishops of each dorm go into another dorm for a whole week, all the six dorms try to learn to get used to their new additions. SuperNova, being the most paranoid dorm out there, is trying their best to keep Serena from learning anything, GalaxyStorm is busy trying to learn what drives Glenn to try so hard to succeed, SunLight is having a problem, not only with the addition of Candice, bit with their Pawn, Mike who still refuses to speak at all, CraterStrike is one of the more accepting dorms, already knowing a lot of Geo, PlanetFoundation is trying to find a way to blackmail Fiona, while trying to keep it from Sacha, and at Moonbeam, the members are testing a belief they have of the SuperNova Bishop Taisuke which has resulted in the latter challenging Sacha to a battle on the spot. Please note: this chapter deals only in the situations currently going on in both PlanetFoundation and SunLight.

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKÉMON BECAUSE IF I DID, CHANDELURE WOULD HAVE LEVITATE.**

Chapter 10: Finding Hope; Taisuke's Secret, SunLight's Tragedy, Sacha's Smile

Have you ever met anybody who didn't like to be around others? Have you ever considered that to be their choice, and not their curse? Too often people are convinced that people who are alone are this way because people find something wrong with them, and that they need to be friends with them, in order to the keep the shotgun at bay. But in reality, people are quiet, shy, anti-social, whatever you want to call it, because they believe that their lives work better this way for some reason. In some cases, it's based on a personal preference of the person in question, and in others, it's all based on the idea that they are lamenting for something that happened, that they feel is on their shoulders alone, and that it is never anyone else's burden to bear. People are called one of two things when it comes to this kind of situation; noble, or irritating. In most cases, it's more of the second option, and it's always seen in this way by the people most willing to help.

In the same way at Nix Academy, it would appear as though the burdens of every single student are shouldered in a different way. But for several of the students, they seem to have an idea that the problems they have aren't something that need to be passed on to others, and that they need to live with as a fact. The only problem with this idea is that they are always going to be people in the entirety of Nix, whether they're part of the chess game or not, that are going to try and help, never knowing if they actually are, or if they're just succeeding in making it worse. As it is said by both Sacha and Arisu, a real friend is not the kind of person who merely agrees with you, but is the kind of person who is willing to argue with you as well.

* * *

The room housing Hibiki, George, and, currently, Sacha had gone silent at the sound of Taisuke's battle request against the current Bishop for the dorm. As he always had been, Sacha made no extraneous movement, while trying to process the challenge made against him, and simply walked back into the dorm room, sitting down on the bed he was going to be using. He gave a large sigh, and looked back at Taisuke, who kept the same confident smile on her face. The two Bishops merely stared at each other, as though the challenge needed time to set in before Sacha would make a decision.

"Nyet," he said plainly, reaching back for the book stuffed into his bag. "No point in battle against own team. Is, how you say, counterproductive? So, no battle," he said, with no change in his emotion, snapping a nerve in Taisuke's forehead as she tried to maintain her position as the calm one in said conversation.

"Teme…" she said, muttering in Japanese, in a hoarse, threatening voice. "Then I guess you'll have to apologize to your head teacher for bringing me all the way here," she said in an offended tone, still receiving no reaction from Sacha.

"We have head teacher?" Sacha asked as his obliviousness to his teacher struck Taisuke, Hibiki, and the female figure outside the door, walking over only to hear that she had not been remembered by one of her own students. "Eto ona?" he asked, pointing to the woman, easily identified, or not so, as Missy Trenton.

"If that means you're asking if that's her, then yeah," Taisuke said, helping the young teacher to her feet. "You seriously don't know that each of the dorms has their own teacher that's in charge of their affairs?" she asked as Missy stood up, with the entirety of her full figure becoming apparent to the Rook standing behind them.

"Enchente, mademoiselle," Hibiki said, making a low bow to the teacher with his left arm extended out to her. "And what, if I may I ask, is your reasoning for visiting our good friend, Sacha?" he asked, trying to act as gallant as possible.

"Cold shower, dude," George said, recovering from his little stint in the hot spring. "Besides, Taisuke, I already have a challenge against the Czar here. You can just wait your turn," he said, weakly standing up.

"I already refuse that battle," Sacha said, turning around to see Taisuke looking at him with a smug look on her face at the sound of his response. "Chto?" he asked as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "I only can refuse one battle…" he said as Taisuke and George faced each other, and held out their fists parallel to the other.

As the two began a game of rock-paper-scissors, Sacha walked over to his head teacher, standing several inches taller than her, not exactly convinced of her ability. As he shook his head, and turned back to where the two were playing, he stopped, and looked again at his supposed "head teacher," staring at her with his visible eye with a questioning look.

"Say something about each member," he said plainly, as his teacher just looked at him with a confused look in her eye. "I want you tell me thing about own team to test ability. If not, then you not qualified."

"Akemi Tomomiya, age sixteen, pokémon Rotom," Missy said spontaneously, making Sacha look at her with more of an impressed look in his eye. "Originally brought to the school in hopes of breaking out of a personality where she stalked every boy she found attractive, Akemi has heightened perception skills that help her assess different situations within minutes. Aleksander Ivanovich Tatarinov, AKA Sacha, sixteen years old, pokémon Lampent. Transferred in during your sophomore year, and towards the end, attempted suicide due to the language barrier between you and ninety five percent of the school, also the youngest member on MoonBeam's team. Devon Anderson, age seventeen, pokémon Absol. Resident of the academy island for the majority of his life as a form of asylum granted with a condition that turns into hyperactivity during battle. Donato Jacaruso, also seventeen years old, pokémon Scrafty. Birthplace, parents, and extended family unknown, is known for having contacts on all ends of the island, and for having a silent personality when battling. Fiona Hendricks, age eighteen, pokémon Froslass. Considered to be a major flirt, and of a sadistic personality, is also heir to a major corporation of her father's. Finally, Arisu Senjougahara, age eighteen, pokémon Eelektross. No exact details are known except for a supposed ability to enhance a pokémon's power through sheer will. So how'd I do?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Neploho," Sacha said, expressing indifference, but showing sincere amazement as he turned around, and widened his eyes.

"You're the youngest out of everyone?" Hibiki asked. "That's usually the Pawn, isn't it?"

"Sacha was born closer to the beginning of the school year, and thus was pushed ahead when he could've been held back," Missy explained. "Akemi is the same, but instead of pushed ahead was held back by her parents."

"So you two should be in the same grade, as of now, right?" Hibiki asked as Sacha simply nodded.

"Okay…" Taisuke said, slightly exasperated from the many different rounds she and George had been playing of rock-paper-scissors. "It's decided, I battle you," she said, as Sacha nodded, and motioned for Missy to follow after them.

"How many rounds of that did you do?" Hibiki asked George as he saw the Knight was still in shock from losing.

"Best of fifty one," he said as Hibiki flailed his head back and forth, trying to make sense of the situation before giving a quick stare to George. "I wanted to battle," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets before following after the three. "At any rate, in this kind of battle there really is no major downside to the result."

"How do you figure?" Hibiki asked as George began contemplating the right words to use.

"Well, either Sacha wins and he gets the points for our dorm, and not his," he said. "Or Taisuke wins and we have a theoretical way of fighting against the once feared Sacha Tatarinov. And if all else fails, we'll still get a little show before bed. Hmm, maybe we can videotape this, and sell it around the school."

"Ooh, a battle that would've happened eventually, maybe even more than once at a school where that's expected of people, sign me up for a dozen copies," Hibiki said sarcastically. "Seriously, is there any way that you'll stop thinking about how to get a quick buck?"

"…No," George answered plainly as Hibiki just groaned, walking around to each of the other rooms for the chess team, and knocked on their doors to get them educated on the current battle situation.

* * *

The middle of the night, while not exactly suggested, is still a very real time that much of the battling for the chess competition actually takes place. As shown in recent experiences with the Rook, Austin Withers, battles in the night are based on one of two properties, adaptability when pertaining to the Pawns, and for Bishops, the other four pieces being disregarded from the two standards, faith. The common belief of Bishops in the chess competition is that they all have some form of belief that influences their actions and that with that feeling alone, they can fight in any environment. Which apparently includes the mixture of a windy, damp, swamp that appears naturally behind the PlanetFoundation dorm?

Out in the back, a dry spot in the land was found for the actual battlefield, and both Bishops had taken their respective places at the darkened ends of the battlefield. Neither of the competitors found themselves able to find each other through simple vision, and instead reached for their respective pokéballs.

"Battle between Sacha Tatarinov, currently of PlanetFoundation, and Taisuke Yana, currently of MoonBeam, begin!" Missy shouted from behind the battlefield as both trainer threw their pokéballs towards the center of the battlefield, the words coming from their mouths the same, but of completely different sounds.

"Lampent, idi!" Sacha shouted as the ghost and fire type slowly lifted itself out of the receding white light.

"Kirlia, ike!" Taisuke shouted, a small psychic type taking the field, spinning on its leg, much like a ballerina. "Hajimemashou, Sacchan," she said, making Sacha's eyes grow wider out of surprise.

"Still think we can learn how to beat Sacha like this?" Hibiki asked as George was left silent, defeated, and lying in a fetal position several meters away from the other spectators. "Reality can really bum a person out, huh?" he asked as the others nodded.

As the battle between the two began, both secondary evolutions met each other in the center of the battlefield, easily found by Lampent's internal heat, and light as an extension. As the two pokémon faced each other, both levitating above the darkened line made in the battlefield in the shape of a pokéball.

"Lampent, ten machyom!" Sacha shouted, as Lampent began making a spasm based movement, releasing multiple shots of Shadow Ball, all directed towards the frail psychic type.

"Kirlia, psychokinesis," Taisuke said in response, much calmer, enunciating every sound of the words she said, as the psychic pokémon lifted up its thin arms in defense, with a blue light shining in the entirety of the iris, pupil, and white.

As Kirlia thrust out its arms towards the Shadow Ball attacks, the blue light from its attack, surrounded them, and began to compress down on them, increasing the pressure as they tried to fight back, and attack. Making a final effort to end the attacks, Kirlia pushed its arms out once more, but with a much greater amount of pressure, putting the final squeeze, so to speak, on the shadowy orbs, turning them into mere particles wafting through the air. As Sacha and his Lampent both shared an expression of bewilderment, they couldn't help but look over and find that Taisuke seemed to have the same feeling around her that Sacha normally did in a battle.

"Kimi wa nihongo wo zenzen wakaranai, desu yo ne?" she said, in a mocking tone as she held out her arms and shrugged her shoulders. "Mendoukusai, ne?" she asked. "Jaa, owarimashou, Kirlia. Shadow Ball," she said, not needing anyone to translate for her as the all too familiar attack launched from Kirlia's body, and travelled fast enough to blast Lampent back towards the edge of the battlefield.

"Lampent, ty v poryadke?" Sacha asked, inquiring on Lampent's condition, to which he was answered with his pokémon slowly lifting itself back up in the air, facing the small psychic pokémon directly. "Da, davayte prodolzhim," he said as Taisuke partially understood what he meant, meaning that they were going to continue.

"Hey, Sacchan!" Taisuke said, switching back to English speech. "What do you say we make this battle a little more interesting?" she proposed as Sacha simply gave her a questioning look. "How about, the loser of the battle has to give up some information about something the winner wants to know?" she asked, making the PlanetFoundation team members all look at her confused. "Gives us more incentive to try all the harder, don't you think?" she questioned as Sacha looked forward, contemplating something that he wanted to know from Taisuke.

"Da," he answered. "Is fine by me. What you want to know?" he asked as Taisuke shook her head.

"You only get to know that if I win," she said, making Sacha look at her with a strange look, which quickly turned to a more confident look in his eyes. "That doesn't mean that we can't have some friendly conversation. Kirlia, tsudzukemashou!" she shouted as the psychic pokémon leaped back into action as Lampent simply followed a simple stretch of Sacha's arm back towards the center of the battlefield. "Now the real battle can begin," she said. _"And then I'll know the real truth."_

* * *

All other dorms in the entirety of the school campus had gone quiet, not even a student leaving their rooms for a quick bathroom trip. Back in SunLight, however, one of the members of the dorm had just woken back up from his own sleep, having started shortly after he arrived back from school. As Mike sat up in his bed, and looked with tired eyes around his room, he stopped as soon as he peered over at the door, finding Candice asleep, while seated with her back leaned up against the door.

Heaving out a sigh, Mike climbed out of his bed, and walked up to the temporary Bishop, crouching down next to her so that the two were eye level. As he let out another deep breath, he took Candice's arm, and slung it over his shoulder, carrying her over towards his bed, carefully placing her under the covers, leaving her in a more comfortable position than when he found her. Turning on a dimly lit lamp, Mike reached under his bed for a large futon, and blanket, pulling out a small box in the process, and knocking a small framed picture from the top. The faces on the picture haunted his memories as a loud screech, crashing sound, and the steady beep of some form of medical instrument entered his ears.

"That you're friend?" Candice asked, having just woken up, after being struck in the face by Mike's door. "He looks like a pretty good guy," she said, as Mike tucked the picture away, and rolled out the floor mattress, trying to find some way to go to sleep even with Candice in the room. "You know, things aren't always so bad when there's somebody to talk to."

Mike made no reaction, forcing Candice to heave out a large sigh, and then crouch over on the bed, making a pouncing maneuver towards Mike. As she came within inches of falling on top of him, Mike simply rolled over in the futon, grabbing the end to pick it up, resulting in Candice falling directly to the floor.

"Why are you so mean!?" Candice asked, noticing that Mike was already making an effort towards the door. "No you don't!" she said, making another jump at him, only to fly directly out the opened door, and hear it lock shut after she fell out. "Not funny!" she shouted from the outside of his door, noticing a small note slid underneath the door. "I thought so," she read, beginning to become more irritated by Mike's attempts to keep her out. "Double Edge," she said as Mike lifted his head in realization, and quickly backed away from the door, after which it was quickly blown from its hinges, leading the way for a large Golem standing in front of Candice. "Thank you," she said to her pokémon as she returned it to her pokéball, walking towards Mike. "I was trying to be nice to you, you know," she said, receiving another note. "Not that I wanted you to," she read. "I'm not leaving this room until you tell me who that is," she said, pointing underneath his bed, mostly likely at the picture that Mike was looking at previously.

"…," Mike said in silence, not making any effort to appease Candice, but then walked back over to his bed, and pulled the box out, handing her the picture. "He's nobody," he said, for the first time.

"Come on, he can't be nobody," Candice said. "He has to be somebody."

"He _was_ somebody," Mike said, turning back to the box, and showing her an old newspaper clipping attached to the top flap. "He _was_ my friend," he said, letting Candice read the newspaper clipping. "And now, because of me, he's nobody anymore."

"Today, the city of Goldenrod, for the first time in ten years, laments over the death of two in a deadly car crash, involving a large semi-truck that proceeded when the traffic light had changed to red," Candice began reading aloud. "The driver of the semi was left uninjured, and the other boy riding in the back seat of the car was left with minor injuries, and is now being treated at Goldenrod General Hospital."

"I was spared in that accident," Mike said, closing the flap of the box, and placing the picture back on top. "And it shouldn't have been that way. If anyone deserved to die back then, it was to have been me," he said, very much aware of the implication of his words. "I was just a stupid attention hog back then, and he was the only person I would ever share that glory with. If I hadn't led him into every stupid idea I came up with, he and his mother wouldn't have died. People who are friends with me are cursed," he said boldly as Candice looked at him with either regret of her words, or genuine condolence. "Nobody who's been friends with me has ever said that they never regretted it. From the bullying, the forgotten promises, right down to every single mistake I've made in my life. I don't deserve people to be kind to me, so I ask that you don't try and break that trend."

"Tonto," Candice said under her breath as Mike sat back down on his bed, almost as though he were trying to force regret on himself. "No voy a dejar," she said playfully as she jumped onto Mike's bed and wrapped her arms around his head, pulling the side of it flush to her chest.

"What are you doing?" he asked trying to move himself away, but was instead pushed down so that he was underneath the entirety of Candice's weight.

"Friends are never supposed to be something you're afraid to have," she said, looking down at his eyes, confused as to her meaning. "People can say they're not supposed to have friends, but in the end, if they don't have any, it makes them truly feel unloved, than if they just tried to become a person that others could get along with. You just need someone who accepts you for you," she said, resting her body down on him.

Instead of struggling, Mike froze at the sound of Candice's breath against his neck as she tried to go to sleep against him. Holding him at the wrists, and pressing her legs down on his ankles, Candice had Mike in a full lock to keep him from moving, and despite what he had originally thought, Mike had found her to be fairly strong in her own right. But something else was bothering him by this point; why didn't he fight her like he would have normally? Feeling her cool breath against his neck, Mike began to drift back off to sleep, despite his attempts to stay awake.

"_I can't…"_ he said to himself as his eyelids grew heavier with each breath she took. _"I can't make friends. They'll only get hurt if they associate with me, and how could I ever allow something to happen to…her?"_ he asked, looking down at Candice's peaceful face as she moved her face up closer to him, until her cheek rested on his.

* * *

The battlefield behind the PlanetFoundation dorm was still left in a stalemate battle between the use of fire, psychic, and ghost attacks from the two Bishops. Ever move that had been made since the two began their battle was matched in overall power, and none of the spectators watching were really quite sure of who was leading the battle. Between Sacha commanding his pokémon in Russian, and Taisuke doing the same, but in Japanese, the battle for the other members of the dorms was sort of a guessing game.

"So, have you figured anything out?" Hibiki asked George as the Knight was left dumbfounded at the speed at which both people were able to speak. "Because if you focus on one person, you start to hear certain things again and again, meaning that they're using the same commands. Think of it like a memory game, which is probably how somebody gets the most proficient in languages."

"The problem isn't deciphering the language anymore," George said as he looked through a small notebook. "The problem is how sensitive their pokémon are," he added as Hibiki gave him a confused look. "If you notice, the sound of the spoken word is rarely audible where we are, and by basic logic is also almost inaudible in the thick of battle. They're not only commanding their pokémon in other languages, they're doing so even when an attack explodes or makes a sound that makes it impossible to hear."

"It's because they're Bishops," Katherine said as the two male members looked at their King. "Bishops are always the most complicated piece because of all the prerequisites to become one; a near perfect behavioral record, a working knowledge of pokémon mythology, and a special connection between their pokémon. Sacha is a very religious person, so he has basic faith in everything he does, just trusting in it without proof that it'll work. Taisuke, on the other hand, is a psychic who makes a living on making connections between people to do her readings, and often can break through to people even in the loudest cases."

As they turned back to the battlefield, Taisuke's Kirlia and Sacha's Lampent were both beginning to show signs of fatigue with both of their trainers no longer looking at them, but at each other. Neither made any sound, nor did they show any emotion, but as Sacha lifted up his hand, Taisuke made a motion backwards with her stance, and motioned towards Kirlia to prepare itself.

"Sacha, if I win this battle, can I make a request of you?" she asked as Sacha gave no reaction to what she said. "There are two thing I want to know, and one of them is about you," she said as Sacha made a small twitch in his eye. "I want to know about this," she said, throwing a small rectangular frame at the Bishop.

Sacha looked down at the picture as they hit the ground, and held it up to the light made by Lampent. He heaved out a large sigh, and threw it back to Taisuke giving her an expectant look as to what she wanted to know. Picking up the picture of Sacha's team at their training over at the beach, Taisuke looked down at it, and traced the scowling face of the one she was currently battling.

"Why don't you smile?" she asked as every eye watching the battle was now turned to Sacha. "This picture and these others all show you, but you never smile in them. Why not?" she asked as she threw the two other pictures at Sacha, who caught them in both hands, this time.

The first was of Sacha with Devon, and the two probably after a practice battle on the beach; Devon was sitting down with Absol holding up his fingers in a victory sign, and then Sacha standing off to the side with Lampent floating above him. He threw the first picture to the side, Danielle catching it, and looking down at Sacha's solemn face. The second, Sacha instantly threw back, Hibiki catching it this time, his face erupting into a beet red color, and a small spurt of blood shooting from his nose before he passed out. As the picture spun in the air, Katherine caught it, and also blushed at the sight of both Arisu and Fiona in their swimsuits on either side of Sacha, with their arms around him.

"That kind of picture will probably put her in a coma, huh?" Amelia asked Danielle after they both peeked over at the picture.

"Ooh, nice," George said. "Make a few copies of that, and we can make a nice little pile of mad money, and then some."

Sacha looked back down the battlefield at Taisuke, and gave her the same expectant look he had before. Taisuke was silent, seeing if Sacha would be the first to speak, still making small movements with her hands towards Kirlia who continued to make small, unnoticeable nods.

"They care about you, Sacchan," Taisuke explained as Sacha made no reaction. "Those people in that dorm really do need you, you know."

"Ya znayu," Sacha responded, indicating his understanding on the matter. "Arisu no can cook, Devon is bad at study, Donato gamble too much, Akemi know nothing of chess game, and Fiona spend too much time doing nothing. I still need them, and they need me," he said. "We all like family, and we better than our own family."

"What?" Taisuke asked as Kirlia gave a small nod to her that Taisuke returned. "What was wrong with your families? It's not like they could've been that bad."

"Devon's father abandon him when he start school," Sacha responded. "Donato's family is nowhere, Akemi's parents no like her, and Arisu's parents expect too much."

"What about Fiona's family?" Taisuke asked, noticing that he had only talked about four. "And what about yours?" she asked as the PlanetFoundation members all stared at Sacha again. "Why do you always have to scowl at everything? Does it have something to do with your family? Or do you really have it in for one of the MoonBeam members?"

"Moya cemya…" Sacha started, referencing his family. "No wanted me. They do, how you say, abortion, but it fail. Doctor said I no want to give up, and it miracle I survive," he explained as Lampent began rising up into the air, high above where Kirlia stood. "They never care for me, they say I nothing but mistake, and something that never should happen. My smile is locked away, until I receive love from parents. This battle short, but is time to end. Lampent, Inferno!" Sacha shouted as Lampent's movements began to become spastic, releasing a giant pillar of fire that almost seemed to be sucking everything up inside of it.

As Kirlia tried to fight against the vortex, Taisuke looked back and forth from in between her pokémon and the pillar of fire, and then noticed the point where Lampent floated from behind its own attack. She let out a small smile, and then motioned for Kirlia who turned around, still mesmerized by the power in Lampent's attack. Pointing directly upward at where she could faintly see Lampent, Taisuke nodded at her pokémon, the psychic type nodding in agreement.

"Kirlia, Assist Power!" she shouted, the Kirlia's body now cloaked in a light green aura that almost seemed to be taking power away from it, before concentrating it into one single attack. "Osoe!" Taisuke shouted, as Kirlia shot the attack from where it stood, the spectators of the battle amazed as it pierced through the first and end of the fiery pillar, and travelled directly at Lampent, while attempting to break through the second layer.

"Assist Power or Stored Power," Hibiki said from the group, having finally recuperated from his little episode. "It takes the power of positive stat changes, and condenses into a single blast of psychic energy, and given the over stat increases, the power is also increased by near astronomical amounts."

"When did she have time to make the stat changes?" Amelia asked, looking down at the attack as it began moving slower through the fire. "Sacha was pretty determined to keep her at bay throughout the majority of this battle."

"It was during their little conversation," Danielle explained. "When Kirlia was out of his view, Taisuke was able to signal it to use a move probably like Calm Mind. Two stat increases at the same time, each about six times would increase the basic power of Store Power to well over two hundred forty percent of its special attack power, whereas Lampent's Inferno attack can only increase itself to two hundred twenty five percent of its special attack."

"You're wrong about Sacha losing this battle if that's the case," Katherine said, watching the attack burst through the second layer of the fire pillar. "There's a difference between the two pokémon in overall stat totals, assuming they're on the same level. And even if they're not, I can assure you that Sacha is at a much higher level than Taisuke."

"How can you tell how strong Lampent is just by looking?" George asked, unconvinced in merely his King's words. Katherine didn't have to say anything as the attack from Kirlia eventually burst through Lampent's Inferno, but by the time it had actually reached the ghost type; it had lost a considerable amount of power, simply passing through, barely doing any damage. "How'd you know that would happen?"

"Taisuke put too much faith into a single attack, only thinking of her own power, and not of her opponent's," Katherine explained as the fiery vortex began to subside. "Lampent's evolutionary line doesn't just have the strongest special attack of all ghost pokémon, but of all pokémon without legendary status, topping even some of them. To put these into basic numbers, Lampent would have an overall power level, at the base, of ninety five, which is much stronger than Kirlia's base power, capping off at a base of sixty five. Even at top power with all of the Calm Mind attacks into effect when she used Stored Power, Taisuke's Kirlia couldn't hope to match the power behind the natural state of a Lampent using one of the most powerful fire attacks in existence."

Taisuke simply looked at Lampent, undamaged, unhurt, and unwavering as it floated high above where both she and Sacha stood. Kirlia had already exhausted so much of its power as it tried to look back up at Lampent, but quickly fell to its knees, Taisuke about to say something, but was instantly cut off by Sacha holding his hand out in front of him, the Supernova Bishop's eyes growing out of terror.

"Lampent, eto zakachnivaee," he said slowly, Lampent producing a large Shadow Ball attack, no hesitation in its execution as it flung the attack towards Kirlia, Taisuke unable to stop it. "Prosti, Taisuke," he apologized, the dark orb instantly connecting with the small psychic type.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as Kirlia soared through the air from the impact, turning upside down as it fell down to the ground. Taisuke, Missy, Sacha, and everyone watching the battle seeming not to move as the form of Kirlia hitting the ground echoed through the entire area, the shape of it falling through the air, reminding Taisuke of her dream earlier of her own face taking the face of the man falling from the Tower card. As she looked up at Sacha who kept the same stern face, she fell to her knees; destroyed by the thought of losing to the person she needed to win against the most. Missy, looking at the defeated shape of the defeated pokémon, looked down as she lifted up her hand towards Sacha.

"The winner of this battle is PlanetFoundation Bishop, Sacha Tatarinov," she said, obvious regret filling her voice as she declared the winner. "The points will be distributed to the correct dorm by morning, and with that I will take me leave," she said, bowing to the spectators and both of the battles before leaving. "Will you be okay going back by yourself later, Taisuke?" she asked, the defeated trainer, giving a weak nod as she returned Kirlia to her pokéball.

Taisuke stayed on the ground, distraught by the fact she lost, and sat down on her own feet, watching Sacha begin to walk up to her, Lampent following after him. He stopped after reaching no more than three feet from her, extending his hand to her, Taisuke hesitantly grabbing it, allowing him to pull her up.

"As promised, what do you me to tell you?" Taisuke asked, Sacha looking back at Lampent who nodded once, turning back to Taisuke about to speak. "Well?"

"What you want to know?" he asked, Taisuke, and the PlanetFoundation members all giving him a surprised look. "I know everything I need, I want know how I can help."

"W-Well," Taisuke started, fighting back tears after her loss, looking straight into Sacha's soulless eyes. "I want to know everything about Fiona's family," she said, slightly embarrassed by the information she was asking.

"Pochemu?" Sacha asked, inquiring as to why.

"She told me that her grandmother was sick, and I just wanted to know if it was true," Taisuke explained. "She said that she's the only person in her family that actually cares about others' well being, and now that she's getting close to death, Fiona wants to know if somebody's going to help her because her own family won't."

"Her babushka," Sacha began, bringing his head closer to her ear. "Is sick in heart," he explained quietly, Taisuke eyes widening out of surprise. "She sick only in spirit. She help all kind of people, and her cemya disown for it. If she need money, it not because she need it, it for someone else, but cemya won't help."

"But they told me that her grandmother was sick and dying," Taisuke said, Sacha moving away, and turning back to the dorm he was living in. "Why would they lie to me? Are you all really monsters without any care for others?" she asked, receiving a slap across the face from Sacha, the rage in his eye reminding her immediately of Arisu's when she did the same.

"You keep secret from your friend!" Sacha shouted. "If you want use it for good, do good thing for another! But never say my friends no care for others," he said, his anger beginning to subside as he walked back to the dorm.

As he passed by the other members of his dorm, Lampent looking behind itself, most of them fearful of their new recruit, a hollow laugh appearing in its voice, Sacha looked down at the pictures in Katherine's hands, and instantly increased in his own anger as he ran back into the dorm. As soon as he disappeared, the other PlanetFoundation members found Katherine shuddering in ecstasy as she fell to the ground.

"I wonder who Sacha should be protected from; Kathy or Fiona?" Hibiki asked, the others nodding in agreement as they picked up their unconscious King, all helping each other to carrying her back into the dorm, leaving Taisuke outside alone, but that may have been for the best.

Still sitting on the ground, holding her cheek where it was struck from Sacha, Taisuke began to think of everything everyone had said to her since this challenge began. Thinking back to when she was doing the reading for Arisu, and when she began to doubt her position in the dorm, and received a similar strike to the cheek as from Sacha.

"_There's not a day that goes by that Christian doesn't speak of you as though you were the heart and soul of the team,"_ she remembering Arisu saying, going farther into the memory after she struck her a second time. _"Do you really think your team would think any less of you for hiding something from them?"_ she could hear in her head, going straight to what she said next. _"Think about how that secret would actually make it so that the rest of your team would actually hate you for it."_

"She said that because she knows what I'm keeping from everyone else," Taisuke said aloud, knowing that she was alone. "And she knows that any of the dorms can't survive without their Bishop. The point of this challenge wasn't for the hardships it would bring on the Bishops, but the other members of the team, to see if they could make any of us snap," she said, remembering what Sacha had just said to her, the sound of his angry voice still echoing in her head.

"_If you want to use it for good, do good thing for another!"_ he shouted to her, Taisuke lifting up her head with a more determined look in her eyes.

"He knows that if I can use that part of my life for good, then it isn't just a privilege, but a duty to do something," she said, still not expecting any reaction from anywhere around as she lifted herself up off the ground, and began to walk back to the MoonBeam dorm, unaware that down from the window, Sacha was staring down at her, looking at the two pictures Katherine was holding, the indifferent look on his face almost haunting him.

"_Maybe smile not such bad thing, after all,"_ he said to himself, looking at the smiling face of Devon, Fiona, and Arisu. _"If they manage smile for me, I do the same for them. Spasibo, Taisuke Yana,"_ he said, watching her disappear into the scenery around PlanetFoundation.

* * *

Morning came all too early for some, especially for those who barely got asleep at all, namely the Bishops from any of the dorms, but in this case, one of the Pawns as well. As Mike woke up, he looked down his body to find Candice still sprawled out on it, still acting as though she were trying to get comfortable. Finding some way to ease her off, and lay her comfortably in his bed, Mike stretched out his back, his arm behind him, cracking his knuckles at the same time as he grabbed his pokéball, and made his way out the door, turning the lights off for the Bishop.

Walking through the hallway, towards the staircase from the fifth floor, Mike began to make his way down, running into Flarita, Lina, and Melissa all about to make their way up. All four stopped as they stared at the other, Mike's eyes not showing as much anger as they were expecting for their action last night. They let out a sigh of relief as they walked by him, Flarita patting him on the shoulder as she passed by.

"Morning, Mike," she said cheerfully as she continued to make her way up, Mike stuck in the same position trying to say something.

"G-Good morning," he said, barely audible to the others, but audible nonetheless, making them stop in their tracks, turning around to see if they actually heard him say something. "Good morning, Flarita," he said again, all three able to hear him, smiles coming across their faces as he ran down the rest of the stairs.

"She did it!" Lina shouted happily, the three of them walking towards Mike's room to find Candice cuddling against his pillow on his bed. "Hmm, maybe she actually did it," she said suggestively, the other two girls giving her a cross look as they moved towards their own room.

"Yeah, it's one problem solved, but what about the other one we got over here?" Melissa asked, taking a seat on one of the sofas in Flarita's and Lina's room. "It's that time of the week already, and I don't think Candi's gonna be much help in that kind of a situation."

"It only took her one night to break the silence that Mike's been keeping for at least a month and a half," Flarita said, reminding the other two of what just happened in the hallway. "Even if she can't fix the problem, she can at least take a bit of the edge off. I mean, we never see it, but that clapping sound is never a good one," she said, both of her teammates agreeing. "Besides, she'll be here any minute, and we all know how Austin is with her."

"He's gonna fold like a cheap suit," Melissa said, suddenly hearing the doorbell ringing, all three of the female SunLight members jumping out of their skin at the sound. "Oh, this ain't gonna end well."

About to walk out of her room, Flarita was cut off by Austin walking silently along the hallway, already aware of who was at the door, despite his King's attempts to stop him. As the three ran down the stairs after him, trying to do whatever they could to stop him, Austin merely casted them aside, reaching the bottom of the stairwell, and walking directly towards the door. Walking through the lobby of his dorm, and passing by Mike on one of the couches, a quick nod as his greeting that Mike copied, Austin gripped the door, and quickly opened it, Flarita bringing her palm to her face at the sight of the figure behind the door.

"Hello, everyone," a cheerful voice said from a woman standing at the same height as Austin about, with a similar hair color, but with more care put into it. "Nice to see you all again."

"Yeah, you too, Violet," Flarita said, walking down from the staircase with Melissa and Lina in tow. "Come down for another visit with Austin?" she asked, Violet simply nodding. "Ah, well, at least this time when you ask what's new, we can actually tell you something."

"Oh, really, what's new?" Violet asked, looking more towards her brother, Austin. "You don't really tell me a whole lot, you know. It kinda hurts that you don't care for your sister, the same way she cares for you. What are you thinking when you do that?"

"A very simple law, 'Treat others the way you wish to be treated,'" Austin said plainly. "I never asked for your care, and I never expect it from you," he explained. "We may share a mother, but we are very different people," he said, quickly receiving a slap across his face from his sister.

"You will not take that tone with me, Austin!" Violet shouted, raising her voice levels louder than what she normally spoke in. "You know that between the two of us, there is no competition as to who is the favorite in our family," she said, a small wince appearing in his eye before he stood back up straight, unfazed by the strike.

"And yet you're still not satisfied," Austin said, walking away from the lobby, and back upstairs. "Try to be on better behavior today, we have a guest," he said, Violet's expression instantly brightening as Austin disappeared.

"So, how are we all doing today? And what's this I hear about a guest living with you all?" Violet asked, sitting down on the couch next to Mike.

"It's part of the first actual challenge of the Chess War here; all the Bishops from the six different dorms are all put into different dorms, and we're still not really sure how this is supposed to be a challenge for us," Melissa explained. "Chances are, though, that girl we have living here is gonna drain our energy dry. You've heard of Candice from CraterStrike, right?" she asked, Violet nodding, probably have talked about her with Donato. "Well apparently she needed a door being slammed in her face to get her to calm down," she said, Violet chuckling slightly.

"Accident," Mike said, Violet turning out of surprise at hearing his voice. "Call it a convergence of circumstances."

"First words I hear you say, and they're bigger than you," Violet said, looking at the other three for an explanation. "When did he actually start talking?"

"Just this morning after we put Candice in his room last night," Flarita said, Mike not as angry as some of them were expecting. "The girl really worked him over last night, and it made him so much more open. I'd like to know what she said to him to make him do the full one eighty."

"Call it my little secret," Mike said, standing up, passing by Candice as he walked back up the stairwell. "Morning," he said, Candice winking at him quickly before he disappeared upstairs.

"So, this is the infamous Candice, huh?" Violet said, extending her hand. "My brother really needs to get his act together, hanging out with this many cute girls. That kid Mike, too; you seem to be getting along just fine with him," she said, Candice blushing slightly. "So how's your old Bishop doing? Glenn, I think his name was."

"Well, it's only been the first day, and it's not like we've been in a lot of contact with him in the last twenty four hours," Lina answered. "Besides, if he's in with the GalaxyStorm folks, they're probably tapping his calls to us, making sure he's not revealing secrets to us. That, and it's not like we're a tightly knit group, not like with the MoonBeam dorm; they had to practically use a pry bar to get Fiona away from Sacha."

"That one always seemed to get girls interested in him," Violet commented. "I'm sure our new little friend had a thing for him at one point," she said, Candice giggling slightly. "But now, it's like Fiona, a girl from PlanetFoundation, and one other girl has a thing for him, or something?"

"Could be a couple more from the way this little internet article sounds," Flarita said, a laptop resting on her thighs, reading through a webpage. "Turns out that Sacha and Taisuke had a battle last night, and it wasn't just with their pokémon. The article says that there was a lot of banter between the two, and it turned into a wager where the loser had to give up information that the winner wanted. Sacha eventually won, but instead asked for what Taisuke wanted to know, and in the end, he gave up information for her. Looks like Fiona could be in trouble if Taisuke starts getting interested."

"Who wrote the article?" Lina asked, leaning over to read the by-line. "George DeSan, Knight of PlanetFoundation. Since when did he become a freelance reporter?"

"Anything to get a quick buck with that one," Melissa said, all five girls sharing a laugh over the fact, quickly hearing a violin sounding from upstairs. "That's probably the one thing that makes living Austin bearable. Aside from the fact he was the first to defeat a MoonBeam member," she said, looking over at Violet who eyes were now more solemn, quickly turning angry as she walked up the stairs towards the fifth floor.

* * *

Austin's room was filled only with the sound of his music, Mike watching from the doorway, smiling as Austin finished the piece, making a small note on the sheet music he was playing off of. Turning to face Mike, Austin made a small sigh, continuing to write small marks on his own sheet music, soon turning back to his Pawn teammate.

"Obviously Candice has a similar effect on people that Devon does, only in reverse," he said, placing his violin in his case, and running his rosin against the bow. "Before, you wouldn't come within fifteen feet of this room, and now you're less than a centimeter from entering. What did that girl say to you to make you think about this whole arrangement differently? Or was it a sudden revelation from having in her your room last night?"

"Who knows?" Mike said, not stepping into his room. "All I know is that I'm not the only one with problems that she can solve," he said, Austin turning his face away, so the red mark on the right side of his face wasn't visible. "Why do you put up with all the abuse you get from your sister? You may be younger, but you're by far stronger than her, and you can do things that she could only dream about. Why don't you just tell her to stop?"

"I don't how much you can relate to the loss of a loved one," Austin started as his answer, Mike not saying anything. "But in case you don't, it feels as though every part of your body is being pulled apart at the same time in all different directions. I lost Violet for longer than was necessary, and I don't think she's still forgiven me completely for what happened. She believes only in what she sees, and as it stands, all she sees when she looks at me is the person who could've stopped something from happening, and didn't do it."

"As opposed to…," Mike started off.

"As opposed to a scared kid who didn't know how to do anything to make him feel better about his parents not being there when he needed them the most," Austin said. "I have no more qualms about my past, and I have no problems speaking about it, but it's a subject my sister would never let me disclose with anyone."

"Why not?" Mike asked, feeling a presence behind him.

"Because he has no place to speak about what our family has gone through," Violet said, walking into the room, giving Austin a full punch to his cheek. "I told you never to talk about this with anybody!" she shouted, still aware that Mike was still watching. "This is why nobody is ever going to be friends with you! A person like you shouldn't ever have them!" she shouted, Mike's mind going back to when he talked about his own past with Candice.

"…'People can say they're not supposed to have friends, but in the end, if they don't have any, it makes them truly feel unloved, than if they just tried to become a person that others could get along with,'" he remembered her saying, reciting it aloud, Violet turning around, Mike keeping his own head down, so as not to face her.

"You just don't understand, Mike," Violet said as nicely as she could. "A boy who can't find friends by being himself is never going to have any. Nobody is going to want to hang out with a person like him, even if they were paid to do it," she said, Austin seeming to be unfazed by her words.

"Austin's my friend," Mike said boldly, Austin looking up slightly surprised. "I like listening to his music, I like listening to him make the other members of this dorm look like idiots when they start making suggestions, I like that he sees the world for what it is, and not what other people fantasize it into," he explained, Austin letting out a small chuckle.

"I guess if he says it, it must be true," he said, lying down on his bed, Violet looking back at her brother, and then back at Mike who was left smiling. "I'd be proud to call anyone who sees what Violet does to me, and still wants to talk to me, as my friend, and that won't be something that would change any time soon. And if you were to try and hurt my friend in any way, physically, or mentally, even if you are my loving sister, I will not hesitate to silence you," he said, Violet looking at both of them, walking past Mike, leaving both to wait for her to reach the stairwell.

Hearing her shoes click against the concrete steps at the end of the hallway, both Austin and Mike began laughing slightly, staying the same positions. After calming down, Austin placed his hands behind his head, looking straight up at the ceiling, and then at Mike through her peripheral.

"You know she's going to make your life a living hell from now on, right?" he asked. "I had a friend in my sophomore year when I was a Pawn here, and for the first six months I knew him, Violet would treat him the same way she does me; and never showed any mercy. Chances are, though, your will may be stronger than her influence."

"Why do you say that?" Mike asked.

"I can only register two emotions; pain and depression," Austin explained. "Not like my sister, who can only see happiness, joy, and rage when it comes to me. But every time I looked at your eyes, I knew you had experienced a pain in your life that could easily match my own. My other friend, he couldn't fathom anything that happened to me, nor could he see me as anything different after leaning the truth of who I was."

"Maybe he just didn't know what it meant to be hurt before," Mike suggested. "A common speculation of the six Pawns this year is that they were all chosen by the other members of the team for being the best at something; you've got perception and strategy with Akemi, analytics with Ike, contacts with Amelia, overall power with Rokuro, thought processes with Adrian, but people never knew why you guys chose me."

"You know, I asked myself the same question for several weeks, even after meeting you," Austin said. "You had all these other Pawns in the other dorms that were so obvious about their best traits, it made you seem so much more insignificant at face value. But after we spent that time together training, and figuring each other out; you were still a mystery to all of us. Whatever Candice did to you last night, made me realize now what you were chosen for in terms of your best, and most adaptable trait," he said, Mike looking at him expectantly. "You are the best of the Pawns I have ever seen who can see actual emotion. You are able to see when a person is hurting, when they want to become stronger, and, most of all, when they are lying to who they really are. And that's because, like all of the other Pawns who's power is known, you've lived through something that most of us can't imagine."

"So, in a way, we both have Candi to thank for being able to live with a our problems a bit better," Mike said, Austin still skeptical about being able to thank the new Bishop. "Had she not helped me with my own problem, I couldn't have helped you with yours; so therefore, she's the one that helped us both out of a situation anyone else would have called hopeless."

"And why do you think that is?" Austin asked, Mike shrugging his shoulders. "Because she's like any person who sees a problem, and takes it upon herself to fix it," he explained. "She doesn't see any point in giving up; especially if it would mean helping somebody she cared about."

"I guess you're right," Mike said. "The problems around here aren't going to stop, though, are they?" he asked, Austin simply shaking his head. "There will be times when we go back to where we started from, thinking that maybe it would've been better if she had actually stayed away from us. Ghosts of our past will come to haunt us, and remembering what that girl did for both of us, may be the only way out."

"Sounds like a lot of work, but if that's what it would come down to," Austin said, both of them chuckling over his distaste for activity. "I guess that means, I'll be looking forward to our time as friends, Mike," he said, reaching his hand out, with no intention of getting up, forcing the latter to walk in his room, and grasp his hand in the same way.

"As do I," he said, both holding the handshake for several seconds, suddenly noticing the other four members of their dorm watching them from the outside. "Oh, is this gonna take some explaining."

"Have fun with that," Austin said, walking out of the room, his violin case in hand as he waved goodbye, leaving his new friend at the mercy of the four female members.

* * *

In the other dorms, however, things were beginning to become more apparent that things in the Bishop challenge weren't as simple as a girl like Candi bringing two friends together by helping only one. Back in MoonBeam, Taisuke was left packing a small duffel bag with merely her tarot cards and a change of clothes, looking over her shoulder as she tried to be as discreet as possible. In GalaxyStorm, Glenn was still left under Tyson's watch, still scribbling away at one of his notebooks, making a quick, unnoticeable motion with his pencil that made his pokémon perk up at the sight of it. In CraterStrike, Geo was still left reading the multiple page essay written by Adrian on the subject of Triple-S, rubbing his forehead at the sight of some of the different ideas the Pawn was considering about the group. And in SuperNova, despite the wishes against her doing so, Serena was beginning to pick the lock on Anya's drawer, grasping at the picture frame she peered at on her first day in the dorm. All four of the other Bishops, whose trials are yet to be face, will soon be revealed, and then the true challenge shall become clear.

* * *

**Dorm Points:**

**MoonBeam: 0**

**CraterStrike: 0**

**PlanetFoundation: 3**

**GalaxyStorm: 0**

**SuperNova: 0**

**SunLight: 0**

* * *

Pokémon Debuts:

Taisuke Yana: Kirlia. Cyanide the Sneasel

Candice "Candi" Laria Isra: Golem. Lolli-S

* * *

Notes:

Imperative Form: All forms of language, with the exception of English, have a case called the imperative form which is another way of saying a command case. Using imperative in Romance Languages is actually very simple, normally incorporating the conjugated form of verbs to address a person directly, or the "you" conjugation, "tu" or "vous" in French for example. Sacha uses imperative form to command Lampent in a style that is how one would always refer to a person in a very informal way. Taisuke, on the other hand, does use imperative case to command Kirlia, but in Japanese there is only one way to turn a verb into imperative, and this involves taking the plain form of verb, saying "ikimasu" which is to go, but is in citation form; iku is the plain form, and then you replace the "u" sound with the corresponding consonant; becoming "ike," as a command to go.

Taisuke's Attack Names: Obviously, we all know that Japanese names for pokémon, whether it be their attacks, or their species names are often different, but are transliterations of English words. Attacks such as Psychic in Japanese are translated into a different word with a similar meaning, normally into a form of writing called katakana; which is the Japanese alphabet specific for writing out words in other languages. And in a lot of other cases, the names of all kinds of attacks, not limited to pokémon, can be heard in this really forced sounding English. To really say the name of the attacks Taisuke used, just with the two showed to be the Japanese names; it would actually be spelled as the following; for Psychic/Psychokinesis "Saikokineshisu," and for Store Power/Assist Power "Ashisuto Pawaa."

* * *

So, that's the next chapter of Checkmate, one that was definitely a long time coming, and I hope this was more to the liking of some of you, and in the end, this is the first part in a major part of the Bishop Challenge Arc. Again, the main focus of this arc is on Taisuke more than anybody, but I think we can all agree that things will eventually be able to mold together everything into one big finale for the first arc. Hopefully you all still remembering this story, and still think it's worth it. I had been planning this chapter for the longest time, and after updating Magic, this is the only thing to work on for a while, and in the end, I think I did pretty good considering that there was still so much stuff left to cover towards the end. Hopefully it flows, and it leaves you all wanting more of my writing. Until we meet again, ja nee.


End file.
